Virgin Atlantic Reviews 

Worst Airline I have ever used. Be aware that I was due to fly long haul but they said they couldn't load any food! They then sat us in the olane for over 7 hours and gave us a small 8oz bottle of water. Absolutely disgusting

We were scammed by a third party fraudulent agency making a reservation for a flight on Virgin. When we became aware that we were lied by this agency impersonating Virgin I called the airline and a very helpful agent instructed me that even though the reservation was paid by our credit card to Virgin, we would be protected by a new reservation number protected by a PIN since he was aware that agencies could otherwise cancel the flight at the last minute leaving passengers stranded. Unfortunately he was prophetic and the flight was cancelled without our knowledge and had to pay again at a higher cost. The airline has refused to refund us and the credit card company that has close business ties with Virgin would not do a chargeback. We have lost $ 3,000. Be very careful of bogus phone numbers after internet searches for airlines. This is a known and prevalent scam and airlines benefit from the loophole. There is no reliable consumer protection.

If I could give zero stars I would! Have now been tracking my bags do circles of Atlanta airport for 6 days now. Delta have been amazing with communication and the whereabouts of my luggage, virgin don't have a clue whatsoever. However Had some positive news after yet again chasing them for the 3rd time today that they had located both my bags and they were BOTH due on the next direct flight to Manchester. Now I've used deltas tracking app to show my bag has been sent back to where it originally came from, out of the airport terminals and my partners has been separated but is ready to be loaded onto tonight flight. Contacted Virgin back who changed their tune and say they cannot infact give me any updates at all now and have basically just ignored any further communication! Completely fobbed off by them. It will now be a week that we have not had our belonging. Diabolical customer service, completely dismissive and no help whatsoever.

I am afraid Virgin Atlantic are a tale of two half’s

In the air I can’t really fault them but before and after flights they are not great and a lot of effort needed to get any conclusion.

I flew Heathrow to JFK, Virgin Atlantic Upper class and the return journey was Boston to Heathrow and both were excellent with staff that went the extra mile to help. The Upper class lounges on each side of the Atlantic were great. Easy check-in, friendly and helpful staff, great food and lovely surroundings. Both flights were on the Airbus A350 which I've been told is generally better than the Dreamliners in terms of interior space, and general wear and tear on seats and fixtures. The staff were all excellent, but then you do expect 'top-notch' service given the much higher cost of the tickets. I would like to give an extra mention to the staff. On the way out there were wifi issues and the staff went beyond the call of duty to sort things out so we could watch the England football game live before landing. On the way home (which was an overnight flight) I slept through multiple staff trying to wake me - which was my fault. When I did wake I said I was desperate for some food (as I'm a diabetic) and they found me a bacon roll and some orange juice which I ate as we came into land. They would have been entitled to refuse, but they were very kind. I have also flown economy previously and always been happy with the service, which given the reduced cost and larger numbers of passengers does mean reduced attention. That said, I've never had any serious issues. So for these two flights (01/07/26 & 18-19/07/26) - top marks. Thanks again.

One of the worst flight company. I booked flight with airbus but they changed to boeing the rubbish. They have right to do so but i paid for airbus. Otherwise 100 of cheap option were avaialbe with boeing . Such a big shame a british company doing so. Pathetic. Never expected . It like you book and car for travel and travelling on bike.

Virgin Atlantic app showed me an assigned seat, so paid for seat assignment for my wife and son so we could be the same row. On the day of check in, my seat was changed to something else, now separating us. Called customer service to request putting us together again but the agent could not move past that my seat was auto assigned. When asked to speak with his supervisor, he asked me why and if I understood how their system works!? And then hung up on me. Absolutely horrendous!

I booked flights with Virgin and paid a premium price for the tickets. Unfortunately, the flights were delayed by more than 36 hours. When I contacted customer support, I was advised that nothing could be done because the aircraft had been changed.
As a result, I cancelled the booking and submitted a refund request. I was initially informed that I would receive an email confirming the processing of my refund; however, I have not received any communication since.
I have contacted support on multiple occasions, but each time I have been given a different update and reassurance, with no clear resolution or meaningful communication regarding the status of my refund.
I am extremely disappointed with the level of service and the lack of transparency throughout this process.

1 star

Extremely disappointed with Virgin Atlantic's customer service and operations. I booked my LHR-ATQ return flights 5 months in advance, specifically to avoid any last minute issues for an important family trip.

Despite booking this far ahead, I received zero notification - no email, no SMS, no app alert about any issue with my flights. I only found out there was a "misconnection" by chance, when I logged into Manage My Booking to select seats. My app still shows both flights as on schedule, and the connecting airline's own website shows the flight operating normally, so there was no clear explanation of what actually changed.

I have spent a huge amount of time on the phone with customer service trying to get this resolved, going back and forth, and the only options given were to cancel for a refund or accept a reroute with a 10-hour layover in Mumbai - completely impractical for travelling with family. No priority or proper alternative was offered, despite having booked 5 months in advance specifically to secure a good connection.

I was told the reason for the "misconnection" was that my original booking had too short a layover. However, after I requested a refund and my tickets were cancelled, I noticed the exact same flight being advertised again on Virgin Atlantic's website at a higher price. If the layover was genuinely too short to be valid, I don't understand how the same flight combination could then be resold. This raised serious concerns for me about the real reason behind being pushed toward cancellation.

The lack of proactive communication, the lack of a workable solution, the time wasted on calls, and now this pricing discrepancy have made this an extremely frustrating experience. If you're booking with Virgin Atlantic, don't assume booking early protects you be prepared to chase them yourself and double check everything.

We don't usually post things like this, but after everything that's happened, we feel people should know.
In February 2026, our family booked Virgin Atlantic flights to Toronto to visit relatives, with travel scheduled for 13 July. Our children had been counting down the days for months.
Instead, this is what happened.
✈️ 13 July (original travel date)
At around 8:00am, Virgin Atlantic cancelled our confirmed flights due to "operational issues."
We spent hours on the phone, often waiting over an hour at a time just to speak to someone. After repeated calls, Virgin Atlantic eventually rerouted us onto a flight departing 15 July at 5:50pm from Heathrow.
✈️ 15 July
At around 9:00am, Virgin Atlantic called to tell us those replacement seats had also been cancelled and offered us a refund.
We repeatedly explained that we did not want a refund. We wanted to travel to Toronto to see our family.
Under UK261, when an airline cancels a flight, passengers are entitled to be rerouted at the earliest opportunity if they choose. Despite explaining this repeatedly, we spent almost the entire day on the phone—from around 9:00am until 7:00pm—before a case manager finally rerouted us onto an Air Canada flight departing 17 July.
✈️ 17 July
We successfully checked in online 24 hours before departure. Virgin Atlantic also arranged a taxi to take us to the airport.
The taxi never arrived.
When we contacted the taxi company, they told us Virgin Atlantic had cancelled the booking at 2:48am.
Nobody informed us.
No email. No text message. No phone call.
When we contacted Virgin Atlantic, we were told that "the passenger" had cancelled the booking via online chat at 2:48am.
That is simply not true.
At 2:48am, our family was asleep. We had already checked in for our flight and had waited an entire week to travel. We had absolutely no reason to cancel our own journey.
We asked Virgin Atlantic to provide:
the online chat transcript;
authentication details;
the IP address or audit trail associated with the alleged cancellation; or
any evidence showing that the cancellation was genuinely made by us.
We have submitted a GDPR Subject Access Request to obtain this information. In the meantime, Virgin Atlantic has repeatedly stated only that their system shows "the passenger" cancelled the booking, without providing any supporting evidence.
Since 13 July, our family has experienced:
Three flight cancellations.
Two reroutes.
Countless hours spent on the phone.
Children left heartbroken and confused after waiting months to see their family.
We are still trying to reach Toronto.
We continue to believe Virgin Atlantic has not fulfilled its obligations under UK261. Despite repeatedly stating that we wished to exercise our right to rerouting, we were offered refunds on more than one occasion instead.
We are currently awaiting responses from both the Duty Manager and Customer Relations Manager, having already spent many more hours waiting for updates.
If Virgin Atlantic genuinely believes we cancelled our own booking, then providing the chat transcript and system audit trail should not be difficult.
We are simply asking for answers, evidence, and for Virgin Atlantic to help our family complete the journey we have been trying to make since 13 July.
@VirginAtlantic
#VirginAtlantic #UK261 #PassengerRights #TravelDisruption #CustomerService

Lovely experience.

Worst holiday, they couldn’t help at all in all of our problems that they caused, any problems with the hotel they just ignored.

Offered us almost no money for a lot of big troubles, and then after sending an email of all our problems trying to get help they just mentioned one of the problems even though we was in a different place from where we booked all the doors to get in and out broke and we was locked out until midnight.

I would never book with them again they only care about getting you to give them money then they will completely abandon you.

I am on a 25 minute wait over a phonecall as I write this review. The reason for being on the phone is that the change of date cant be done online directly from within "manage booking" ... not sure why that would be such a difficult task in 2026??

The worst airline for US trips! I know guys it’s very limited to fly to US (New York, Las Vegas) from England ( Manchester, London Heathrow) but for money what we paying could be little bit better!
I flow Premium class from Manchester to Las Vegas ( pay by points and taxes ) and I had plastic cups with the mail! We didn’t have goody bags! Or fancy wall with the snack!
Plus when I bid for upgrade on way back it’s became more mass!

I would give this no stars if possible , DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS AIRLINE, customer service is horrific , I tried to move my flight in autumn due to finding out we have a terminally ill parent , I asked for advice which they gave incorrectly they cancelled my flight without confirming with me or confirming the cost meaning they did not refund me my flights and seats/ bags etc and charged me 1800 for cancellation for a flight that doesn’t leave until September and will not do anything to help me recover the cost or rebook the flight etc which is what I asked for in the first place. This is absolutely disgusting to profit off such a horrible situation. Seats and flights back on sale at full price , absolutely criminal, Virgin Atlantic you should be ashamed of yourselves. Will never fly with this airline again anyone could end up In This situation unfortunately so people need to know how you can expect to be treated.

I am being extremely generous giving 1 star. VA flight changed to Wamos. Substandard package offered in comparison to the UC VA experience I originally booked. Absolutely disgusting customer service, how VA haven’t gone bust is beyond me

Seat 56B 787 Dreamliner on 14th july 2026 from Mumbai to London. TV never worked, Hand rest cover broken exposing sharp edges, Toilet seat and cover don't stay open!
Narrow seats and ridiculous tray and food options.
I would risk the low rated local airline before considering booking again.
Connections are good.

I was physically harmed by a member of the crew on a flight, and pending an "investigation" by Virgin Atlantic, during which I was given the runaround, the crew members gave accounts that were false. To first be harmed and then in essence to be called a liar is appalling. I have been a loyal customer for well over a decade, but this incident and the way in which Virgin Atlantic handled it and treated me has put me off ever flying with them again.

My flight schedule was changed with less than 14 days’ notice. I contacted customer service to request alternative flights, and they confirmed that this could be arranged. However, when my travel agent contacted them, the request was rejected.

There appears to be a serious disconnect between the customer-facing team and the agent-support team. I have called every day for the past six days, but the issue remains unresolved. I have also raised complaints through several channels, yet I am still receiving no meaningful support.

The entire experience has been extremely frustrating and unnecessarily difficult.

Awful service and they don't tell the truth