How is it possible that I planned to go away on my Disney adventure for so long and now I have been and I am back two weeks already.
Despite having flown to America multiple times before - well four to be exact - this was the first time that we had ever gone with Virgin Atlantic. I know that it seems like the obvious choice but we always seemed to go with other carriers such as United Airlines or British Airways.
As I had never flown with Virgin before I did a bit of online research before we went - as is the modern way now - and I was pretty excited with what I learnt. I knew that I was going to be able to take my backpack on board with my cabin suitcase, which pleased me immensely. However, I have to say that my favourite thing was the idea of how much I was going to be fed on board. It's a long flight and the key to keeping me happy is keeping me well fed!
So lets start right at the beginning of the journey then. Virgin Atlantic have started flying directly from Belfast International Airport, which is really handy for us Northern Irish folk as it means we don't have to travel down to the South to fly from Dublin airport or, alternatively, we don't have to fly to London to make a connecting flight! Fun fact though, Belfast International airport isn't actually in Belfast, it is about 30minutes from the city centre - yes I know it's strange but sure it's what makes us lot unique!
Okay, so lets fast forward a little and now I have boarded the flight. From the moment I was on board, I commented on how comfortable the seats looked. They had adjustable leather headrests for each passenger and whether or not they were actually of any use or comfort was yet to be tested but they did add a little bit of glamour to an otherwise pretty standard plane. Another pleasant surprise was that there appeared to be a relative amount of room, which for an economy flight is quite surprising.
Okay, so lets fast forward a little and now I have boarded the flight. From the moment I was on board, I commented on how comfortable the seats looked. They had adjustable leather headrests for each passenger and whether or not they were actually of any use or comfort was yet to be tested but they did add a little bit of glamour to an otherwise pretty standard plane. Another pleasant surprise was that there appeared to be a relative amount of room, which for an economy flight is quite surprising.
Once we were safely at the required altitude the cabin crew quickly came around with a complimentary bar service. Yes! You did read that right, no your eyes are not deceiving you, the alcoholic beverages were free. Now if you have flown with Virgin before I am sure that this did not come as a surprise. I do have to say however, for me, as someone who does not expect very much for free in this life, I couldn't believe it. It was also harder to believe, as the last long haul flight I went on to New York you only got your soft drinks for free, everything else came at a cost.
Once the bar service had concluded it was time for my favourite part of any day and that is the meal! Now, I think I am in a very small minority when I say that I rather enjoy plane food but I can't lie, it has never done me wrong and I have never found anything inedible. I am always quite amazed to be honest that you can get something such as a pasta dish or a sausage dish in a metal tube in the air. In those situations, I am just grateful that I am getting something other than drinks and snacks.
I really enjoyed my meal and I wish I could be a brilliant blogger and actually remember the correct title of what I ate was but all I can remember is that it was a form of sausages and parmesan mash. Along with the meal we were also treated to a pasta salad, bread, cheese, crackers and even a dessert. All meals were served with water and then you had a choice of red or white wine. The meal was then followed by a tea and coffee service - fabulous! By this point if it hadn't of been for the plastic cutlery and lack of bed to sleep in I would have been highly convinced that I was in first class.
You would probably think that apart from any snacks or drinks - also complimentary - you wanted to have throughout the rest of the flight everything else would be finished. You would be wrong however! Before we landed in Orlando we were also served complimentary Twister ice lollies which broke up the monotony of the eight and a half hours rather nicely. Before we landed we were also provided with a glorious afternoon tea and the choice of tea or coffee.
Even though we were delayed in the air and from disembarking the plane for around two hours I still cannot fault Virgin. They cannot control the weather and the decisions made by the airport which means that despite me being very grumpy when I got off the plane after ten and a half hours I still thought I had the best flight of my life.
I thoroughly recommend flying transatlantic with Virgin Atlantic. The staff are wonderful and will go the extra mile to make sure that everything you want and need is catered for. There is nothing that is too much trouble for them. Everything that Virgin has in place throughout the flight really does go a very long way to make your journey as pleasant as possible and I really would be hard pushed to consider anybody else when flying back to America!
Have you ever flown with Virgin? What was your experience?
Once the bar service had concluded it was time for my favourite part of any day and that is the meal! Now, I think I am in a very small minority when I say that I rather enjoy plane food but I can't lie, it has never done me wrong and I have never found anything inedible. I am always quite amazed to be honest that you can get something such as a pasta dish or a sausage dish in a metal tube in the air. In those situations, I am just grateful that I am getting something other than drinks and snacks.
I really enjoyed my meal and I wish I could be a brilliant blogger and actually remember the correct title of what I ate was but all I can remember is that it was a form of sausages and parmesan mash. Along with the meal we were also treated to a pasta salad, bread, cheese, crackers and even a dessert. All meals were served with water and then you had a choice of red or white wine. The meal was then followed by a tea and coffee service - fabulous! By this point if it hadn't of been for the plastic cutlery and lack of bed to sleep in I would have been highly convinced that I was in first class.
You would probably think that apart from any snacks or drinks - also complimentary - you wanted to have throughout the rest of the flight everything else would be finished. You would be wrong however! Before we landed in Orlando we were also served complimentary Twister ice lollies which broke up the monotony of the eight and a half hours rather nicely. Before we landed we were also provided with a glorious afternoon tea and the choice of tea or coffee.
Even though we were delayed in the air and from disembarking the plane for around two hours I still cannot fault Virgin. They cannot control the weather and the decisions made by the airport which means that despite me being very grumpy when I got off the plane after ten and a half hours I still thought I had the best flight of my life.
I thoroughly recommend flying transatlantic with Virgin Atlantic. The staff are wonderful and will go the extra mile to make sure that everything you want and need is catered for. There is nothing that is too much trouble for them. Everything that Virgin has in place throughout the flight really does go a very long way to make your journey as pleasant as possible and I really would be hard pushed to consider anybody else when flying back to America!
Have you ever flown with Virgin? What was your experience?
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