Air France vs Virgin Atlantic

Best product each one flies

Scored on what can be verified. Service, food and ground recovery are absent deliberately: they need someone in the seat, and they live in the reviews rather than here.

One caveat on the Value line, stated rather than buried: the cabin scores describe a business product and the fares behind Value are economy. A carrier that prices economy aggressively generally prices business the same way, but they are different products. Read Value as how an airline prices against its competitors, not as what its business seat costs.

Dimension by dimension

• Seat: level

  10/10 on the A350-900 / 777 (new Business Suite) against 10/10 on the A330neo (Upper Class Suite).

• IFE: level

  Screens, connectivity and power: 8/10 against 8/10.

• Lounge & bags: level

  What the fare includes before you board: 10/10 against 10/10.

• Value: Air France

  Median premium over the cheapest carrier on the same route: 5/10 against 0/10.

What happens if the aircraft swaps

Both carriers are paying-the-same-fare-either-way propositions on some frames. The worst product each one flies:

Air France: The new Business Suite with a closing door is rolling out across the A350 and select 777s. Frames not yet done keep a 1-2-1 seat without a door, so direct aisle access is constant and privacy is not.

Virgin Atlantic: Still 1-2-1 with direct aisle access, but no closing door: the A350 uses a privacy panel and an 82-inch bed, the 787-9 an older herringbone with manual bed conversion.

Common questions

Is Air France or Virgin Atlantic better to Europe?

Air France scores 8.3/10 against Virgin Atlantic at 7/10 on seat, screens, lounge and fare. On the four dimensions we can verify, Air France wins 1 and Virgin Atlantic wins 0. Service and food are not scored here because they cannot be read off a spec sheet.

Does the aircraft change the answer?

Yes. Virgin Atlantic scores 10/10 on the A330neo (Upper Class Suite) and 8/10 on the A350-1000 / 787-9. Check the equipment on your date before deciding.

Has Jon flown either of these?

Neither, so this page is product facts and fares only. Any review we publish of either will be labeled Researched until that changes.