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NEW: Secure Virgin Atlantic’s Retreat Suite at the time of booking

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The Retreat Suite is a brand new concept from Virgin Atlantic on its new A330neo aircraft. It comprises two enlarged Upper Class suites in the centre of row 1.

Virgin Atlantic says it is its “most spacious suite yet” with a 6’7″ (2m) fully flat bed, an expansive 27″ touch screen with Bluetooth connectivity and wireless charging.

Here is my full review of flying the Virgin Atlantic Retreat Suite.

How I booked Virgin Atlantic's new Retreat Suite

Virgin Atlantic has made the most of the extra legroom afforded in the bulkhead row. It opened up the seat footwell – no foot cubby holes here – with the leg rest also acting as an ottoman for buddy dining.

The Retreat Suites also benefit from a huge amount of storage space, with lids from the side consoles popping open to reveal deep storage areas.

Interestingly, the Retreat Suite is only available in the centre pair so you won’t be able to sit next to a window if you want the additional space. The window seats in row 1 feature the standard Upper Class seat.

Booking the Retreat Suite was tricky

Virgin Atlantic made it difficult to book the Retreat Suite. It’s not clear if this was because of concerns over last minute aircraft swaps (which would require refunds) or because it wanted to create an air of excitement.

You could only book the Retreat Suite from 14 days before departure. They opened up at 14 days, to the minute, before take-off.

Virgin Atlantic A330neo

The price was initially £200 per seat, one way, to New York JFK but has now risen to £300. The price may vary on longer routes.

(Virgin Atlantic does not charge for Upper Class seat selection for its standard seats, but you do need to pay for the Retreat Suite. There are no discounts for elite members.)

If not booked, the seats were meant to be offered to the highest ranking members of Virgin Flying Club at check in. This didn’t always seem to happen given that they were often empty.

The rules have changed

Quietly – and this is not currently reflected on the Virgin Atlantic website – the rules have changed.

You can now lock in the Retreat Suite at the time of booking or at any point afterwards.

Here is a screenshot for a dummy booking in Upper Class from Heathrow to New York JFK for April, so well outside the 14-day window:

I had no trouble selecting the Retreat Suite for both legs. As you can see below, the £600 fee was added to the cost of my ticket:

I think this is a sensible move by Virgin Atlantic. If nothing else, there will be a fair number of people who want to try this seat but hadn’t booked because they wanted 100% certainty that they could grab it. You can now guarantee you get it at the time of booking.

Whether Virgin Atlantic would take pity on you if you paid for the Retreat Suite, there was an aircraft swap and you wanted to switch your flight is a different question …..

PS. This change also means that if you have an A330neo Upper Class flight already booked, you should be able to select the Retreat Suite now. There is no need to wait until 14 days before departure.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points. 

Category

Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (32)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Stoat says:
    3 Feb3 February 05:36

    I don’t think there is a strong argument to buy into a Virgin money making scheme at £600/ pair. However, perhaps it’s cheap if you want to be “king and queen” of the upper class cabin I suppose!

    • Andrew says:
      3 Feb3 February 10:40

      By that logic you’ll be in the back row of economy next to the toilets yeh?

    • TGLoyalty says:
      3 Feb3 February 12:58

      What do you mean? It’s an actual
      Seat upgrade not just paying for the same seat on different rows.

      Might be a little steep for JUST a seat vs First class over business class F&B but I can still see a reason to upgrade

  • SonicStar817 says:
    3 Feb3 February 05:52

    Missed opportunity to not have a Retreat Suite option at the row 1 window seats in my opinion. No way I’m paying that much for a centre pair of seats.

    • Rob says:
      3 Feb3 February 08:46

      There is no opportunity, because there is no unused space. Retreat Suite was a solution to a problem.

  • masaccio says:
    3 Feb3 February 07:37

    Does this mean you could add this to a redemption as additional cash too?

  • NigelthePensioner says:
    3 Feb3 February 07:51

    They were available for £200 in December for reward flights to Barbados from LHR in Nov 24………….

  • Nick says:
    3 Feb3 February 08:11

    I tried the retreat suites on a recent flight as they were empty, but personally found the screen too far away from the seat and I couldn’t put my feet up so was a big no from me.

  • HampshireHog says:
    3 Feb3 February 08:21

    I’d be happy enough just to escape the Dreamliner coffin

    • Qrfan says:
      3 Feb3 February 08:56

      I’m not touching virgin until they sort that out. There’s no way I’m risking a last minute plane swap. Much rather get the guaranteed reverse herringbone on American. Until then the virgin miles will continue to accumulate.

      • babyg_wc says:
        3 Feb3 February 10:28

        whilst not my favourite seat by a long stretch, i do like the buddy dinning, the bar and if youre in Row-A the privacy can be OKish….. its the sky high fees for redemptions that
        means i wont be booking virgin any time soon.

        • Ryan says:
          3 Feb3 February 11:06

          It’s only sky high going to US, PVG was less than £250 each way

          • babyg_wc says:
            3 Feb3 February 11:14

            hmm interesting.. havent looked in ages.. might have a poke around! thanks Ryan

          • babyg_wc says:
            3 Feb3 February 11:18

            135,000points+£581 for PVG return… i guess thats OK for a 12hr flight!

    • Andrew says:
      3 Feb3 February 10:47

      This really puzzles me.

      BA and Virgin both have new products available, but what’s changed with their old product?

      BA are still flying their dilapidated 787-8, 787-9 and A380 aircraft with the 2006 Club World yin-yang design. I don’t remember much hatred of Virgin’s 787-9 product at the time?

      What’s changed?

      • Rob says:
        3 Feb3 February 11:20

        Because better is now out there ….

        • David says:
          3 Feb3 February 11:47

          If BA offered the same coffins for as long as Virgin have as a premium product they would be hammered. Virgin seems to garner a lot of slack compared to BA. Honeymooner client effect perhaps.

          • dougzz99 says:
            3 Feb3 February 12:28

            Branding. In the same way people pay a huge premium for designer items there’s a substantial belief Virgin are hip and worth the price.
            Virgin old seats are so inferior it’s crazy the price is the same as the new one. Maybe true of BA too, but as status allows me the selection of the better seats I’m fine with CW.

          • Alastair says:
            3 Feb3 February 16:43

            Perhaps because VS offer a better product? If you don’t have status, compared to Club World experience at almost every stage of the journey is superior. The UC Wing beats T5 Fast Track. The Clubhouse wipes the floor with Galleries Club. You don’t have to pay to choose a seat at booking. You can pre order your meal. Your food comes on full size plates rather than the doll house stuff on BA. The second service to the US East Coast is a choice of four dishes, some hot, rather than the “take it or leave it” afternoon tea. If you’re unlucky enough to have an aircraft with the old seats you can always get up and visit the bar to take your mind off it…and recall that BA can’t even guarantee CS to JFK (as my friend found out today). On the return, the arrivals lounge at T3 hasn’t a trace of linoleum in sight and will do you an excellent Eggs Benedict to order.
            And so on.

      • TGLoyalty says:
        3 Feb3 February 13:04

        Honestly the 787/A380 CE seat is absolutely fine when everything works.

      • Will says:
        4 Feb4 February 00:18

        I don’t really know what planet people who were not critical of the “coffin” seats on virgin were ever on.

        BA business ying/yang even having to climb over someone was far better than these seats imho.

        Simply on the fact you have to flip the seat to go into a bed it’s a no from me.

  • Nick says:
    3 Feb3 February 10:48

    Not ‘taking pity’ would come at a £600 cost to them with the resulting refund you’d get, so yes I imagine they probably would allow you to switch. At least after it happens enough times.

  • Ashic says:
    3 Feb3 February 11:41

    3.2k for a club return to JFK. Make it make sense.

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