Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, Half Moon Bay and the Original Hooters (SQ/VS/B6/DL/UA)

[yflyer]

The Y cabin is laid out conventionally in 2-4-2 format.





Some of the Y seats are extra-legroom seats, selectable at extra charge...



An extra-legroom seat...





You can choose emex or extra-legroom seats online, at extra charge. Note that if you are on an SQ codeshare, you are not able to choose your seat from the SQ website, and can only enter your preference for aisle/window.



I love their quirky cartoon style seat map, which has cabin crew with their carts in the aisle...

The emex row seats...



I was seated at a regular Y seat...



This was a reasonably comfortable seat, with adequate legroom.



Recline was ok as well.



No underseat obstructions under the window-side seats.

[yflyer]

IFE was on a large 4:3 screen. This was an older AVOD system, with a smallish selection of programs and passable video quality.





IFE controller in the armrest...



Headphone socket uses the regular 3.5mm miniplug...



Every passenger gets headphones, a pillow and a blanket.



The blanket has a unique shape, with a V-shaped cutout for your neck so that the blanket fits comfortable over your whole body.

[yflyer]

Relatively short 6 hour and 32 minute flight time today...





Manual safety demo...

[yflyer]

A bottle of water for each passenger...



Today's menu...







Beverage service began shortly after take-off...



I ordered a G&T...



For my meal, I opted for the mushroom pasta...



A stylishly presented meal. I didn't care too much for the plastic cutlery, though.



Salad to start...



The pasta dish tasted pretty good...



Dessert...



Overall a decent meal, broadly comparable to BA's offerings, but not as impressive as SQ's Y meals.

Post dinner glass of whisky...

[yflyer]

The cabin was quiet for most of this day time flight...





Cabin ambience was quite pleasant, despite it being a full flight...





The overall spaciousness of the A346 Y cabin is superior to supposedly more modern Y configurations, such as the 10-abreast 777 or 9-abreast 787.

[yflyer]

Prior to landing, a snack box was served, comprising a savoury wrap and some snacks...



We landed in Boston on a sunny afternoon, with great views of the coastline and city as we landed.

Overall impressions of Virgin Atlantic's economy class offering on this sector?

While the A346 is no longer a new aircraft, the hard product on this equipment remains a very comfortable way to fly. I would rate this better than the previous generation BA and SQ hard products (e.g. SQ's refitted 777's), but slightly behind the latest SQ and BA long haul Y offerings. The IFE in particular is slightly dated.

That said, the economy seats are very comfortable, and the Virgin cabin crew were great as well: efficient and very warm and cheerful. I was very happy with my experience onboard this flight.

Taken as a whole, flying SQ and VS from Singapore to Boston via London was a great experience, both inflight and on the ground. I would highly recommend this routing to Boston, especially if you have access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse during your transit stop.

To be continued...

[KC*]

My wife is hooked on Korean dramas while I am hooked on your TRs.

Looking forward to the next installment of your excellent write-up (as always!).

[icn.sg]

My wife is hooked on Korean dramas while I am hooked on your TRs.

Looking forward to the next installment of your excellent write-up (as always!).

Same here...as in being hooked on yflyer's TR.

I read yflyer's TR because I can identify with a Y flyer. It gives me a good glimpse into what the Y offerings are out there.

yflyer

I have heard many good things about Virgin's lounge in LHR and JFK, but I still surprised by those pics. Stylish, modern, fun, interesting F&B. On the other extreme, whenever I step into SQ's "home away from home", I have a strong urge to get out within 20min.

How large are the meal portions onboard VS? I've seen other TRs, and remember that the portions were very small.

Still amazed by how you find time and have the discipline to write these TRs. Keep them coming!

[kapitan]

I am waiting for the Hooters part...

[yflyer]

My wife is hooked on Korean dramas while I am hooked on your TRs.

Looking forward to the next installment of your excellent write-up (as always!).

Thanks, KC*!

Same here...as in being hooked on yflyer's TR.

I read yflyer's TR because I can identify with a Y flyer. It gives me a good glimpse into what the Y offerings are out there.

yflyer

I have heard many good things about Virgin's lounge in LHR and JFK, but I still surprised by those pics. Stylish, modern, fun, interesting F&B. On the other extreme, whenever I step into SQ's "home away from home", I have a strong urge to get out within 20min.

How large are the meal portions onboard VS? I've seen other TRs, and remember that the portions were very small.

Thanks, icn.sg! Yes, the Virgin lounge is quite spectacular. The last time I was really impressed with an SQ lounge was the previous ICN lounge before they closed it when SQ moved to the satellite terminal. I like the SilverKris Lounge in Changi T3, but to me it also doesn't have the wow factor that other flagship lounges like the Virgin Clubhouse have.

The VS meal portions in Y are on the smallish side. You won't starve, but if you have a big appetite, better eat more in the lounge before the flight...

I am waiting for the Hooters part...

Coming soon, kapitan!

[reddevil0728]

May I know you have access to Virgin Clubhouse by virtue of you being Delta's frequent flyer?

[SQfanatic]

Great TR, but I haven't seen your TR for B6, DL, UA, and SQ1. I am flying SQ1/2 (On my way to/from India) this December/January.

[Pinkfloyd]

May I know you have access to Virgin Clubhouse by virtue of you being Delta's frequent flyer?

It's probably Krisflyer Gold flying on VS metal.

[yflyer]

May I know you have access to Virgin Clubhouse by virtue of you being Delta's frequent flyer?

It's probably Krisflyer Gold flying on VS metal.

Yes, KF Gold will get you into the lounge if you are in Y...My ticket was an SQ ticket with SQ codeshare SQ2511 operated by VS11. Not sure if you can get in if you just buy a VS ticket though.

[9V-SIA]

Yes, KF Gold will get you into the lounge if you are in Y...My ticket was an SQ ticket with SQ codeshare SQ2511 operated by VS11. Not sure if you can get in if you just buy a VS ticket though.

My kids fly to JFK via LHR on two tickets

They couldn't get into VS lounge with KF Gold

(Use to be able to but looks like you can on codeshare)