NEWS: Virgin Atlantic is buying the new Boeing 787. It has 15 787-900s on order. With this new aircraft it plans to open new routes. There are also 6 A380, and 10 A330s on order.

Virgin Atlantic sell themselves as a young trendy airline which will fly you across the Atlantic in a style that you don't get with with other airlines.

Alas reviews and opinions about Virgin Atlantic are mixed - for a simple reason. Virgin believe in style over substance. If you love a lot of fancy adverts and slogans, but don't fly enough to compare VA with other airlines, you may love them: other passengers avoid Virgin for exactly the same reason, and it has been said that Virgin Atlantic will get you there, but in a low cost style.

Although technically a full-service airline, the quality can bit a bit hit or miss: certainly in premium classes, other airlines serve better food, but the lounges are second to none. In economy the onboard drinks are great, but the soft product - such as the food and the service - can be truly woeful. The hard product - the planes & seats - can equally be a bit random in economy: often there is no way of knowing if you'll get a new plane with all the frills, or an older version with dodgy seats and entertainment.

Virgin Atlantic inspires curious brand loyalty: some passengers will never fly on anything else, and other passengers will avoid the airline if possible: it seems the funky branding causes as much annoyance and a "stay away" factor as it generates.

Virgin Atlantic are "never short of a news line", and some of the travel magazines fawn over VA as if it is the only airline worth considering (or taking advertising from), while at the same point Virgin has generated news coverage from something as simple as the worse airline meal ever to generate a complaint letter. Certainly reviews indicate that some of the service and quality is downright ropey, old, and tired. Food is at best average, inflight entertainment gives eyestrain, while the drink service is decidedly rationed. All this at what is sometimes more than other airlines' fares.

The fleet of just 37 planes may seems small, however all of those are longhaul, so it flies globally to over 60 countries, and Virgin Atlantic is certainly well worth trying if you're a bit bored with what other airlines offer. ... read more about Virgin Atlantics aircraft, seats & fleet.

Virgin Atlantic has several distant cousins that also trade under the Virgin brand. V-Australia is a long-haul trans-Pacific airline, while Virgin Blue (and its offshoots) used to be a low-cost Australian airline, which is now rapidly becoming a full-service one.