Flying upper class with Virgin holidays an amazing experience

Dan and I were lucky enough to be able to fly upper class to Disney world and back to the UK in May 2022 with my parents.
Back in December 2019 Before the COVID pandemic we took the plunge and booked our first ever trip to Disney world for Dan’s 30th birthday. We were due to travel in September 2020 and decided to fly upper class, the reason behind this was to celebrate Dan’s birthday and that the fact that Dan does not like flying.

Our whole trip was booked through Virgin holidays and we did this in one of their stores rather than online. We couldn’t fault the customer service we received from them in regards to cancelled trips because of the pandemic. We finally went in May 2022 which was third time lucky.

I had watched a few vlogs on YouTube about the upper class experience to get an idea of what to expect and honestly it did not disappoint.

Before you fly

With any upper class booking you get to chose your seat at the time of booking and can amend it through the Virgin Atlantic app. We did find that the seats we originally chose were changed on the lead up to the flight as the aircraft had changed. We still sat together so it wasn’t a problem.

As we booked in store we were able to see an example of an upper class seat before booking which was a nice touch. The service provided and the friendlyness of the staff was great throughout the whole booking process. The only one improvement I could suggest was trying to get through on the phone lines was painful and it took me over an hour on one occasion. This could have been due to demand as a result of COVID delayed holidays.

We decided to check in online and this process was pretty straightforward.

At the airport- dedicated upper class areas

We arrived at Heathrow Terminal 3 the night before our flight and stayed at the Aerotel which is right inside the terminal. There is an upper class wing you can use if you are being dropped off the same day as your flight.

Flying upper class allows you to check in at a dedicated check in desk, this was easy enough and we only had a short wait. The staff member that checked us in was very friendly and helpful. When we had checked our baggage we headed to the upper class security area in the dedicated lift.

Once the upper class lift doors opened you were in the dedicated security area, there wasn’t much of queue so we were in through within 10 minutes.

Once through security we followed the signs to the Virgin upper class lounge where we relaxed until our flight boarded. The lounge had a great atmosphere. Food and drinks were available to order and both were delicious, we even had enough time to play a game of pool!

We all had eggs royal for breakfast as well as some fresh fruit both delicious and a good start to the holiday.

Onboard the aircraft- Upper class area

Once we boarded the aircraft and entered the upper class section we had a pre flight beverage of champagne or orange juice which we drank before we took off.

We had middle seats on the way out and window seats on the way back, the middle seats were in twos and we actually preferred this set up as Dan didn’t enjoy his window seat due to being a nervous flyer. The seats convert in to a fully flat bed, duvet and pillow provided so it’s very easy to have a nap during the flight.

We got our selves settled and went through the entertainment options while we waited for take off, there were so many options to chose from such as various Disney films, comedy’s and my favourite Harry Potter!

Around an hour in to the flight we had a three course lunch, the food quality was good for plane food and was all served with proper cutlery and plates.
You do have the option to pre book your food but we forgot to do this so it did mean they didn’t have enough of certain dishes. An hour before we landed we had more food both Dan and I opted for a pulled pork burger but there were also options like afternoon tea.

All throughout the flight there were snacks and drinks available.

Final thoughts

Travelling upper class was an experience we will never forgot, and something worth doing once in your life if you can. It’s not cheap but the service and experience you receive is just amazing. We often look to travel this class again to Disney world but currently the prices are out of reach but we will be keeping an eye on them.