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Virgin Atlantic is known for being one of the best in the business. They deliver excellent service across all classes and combine consistency with a strong personality. They have been repeatedly praised by ordinary customers and aviation professionals alike.
What exactly makes Virgin cabin crew so exceptional? It’s down to the carriers’ ‘Red Spirit’ and rebellious nature, along with intensive and ruthless training and selection practices. Virgin Atlantic has also implemented measures to ensure its cabin crew has great morale. Similar strengths are evident in the other carrier that uses the Virgin name, Virgin Australia. Yet, there have been challenges to the stability of the Virgin Atlantic flight attendant community in recent years, mostly due to COVID-era layoffs.
“These two lovely Virgin Atlantic cabin crew ladies (Vanessa and Helen) went over and beyond to please us today and treated my wife and I and made us feel like royalty and made our flight the most memorable ever,” writes David Yeo on the Facebook group ‘Barbados on a Budget.’
Matt Hamilton replies, “Virgin cabin crew are the best.”
Such accounts of superb cabin crew service aboard Virgin aircraft are everywhere online right now. The professionals agree too. Simple Flying’s Jake Hardiman wrote about the Virgin Atlantic cabin crew in his trip report flying upper class on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: “Despite the Upper Class cabin being full, the cabin crew took the time to introduce themselves to the passengers.” He concludes the review by arguing that the strong product is effectively backed by “friendly cabin crew.” God Save The Point’s Gilbert Ott describes them as “bubbly, friendly, and look[ing] sharp”.
Virgin’s ‘Red Spirit’ Identity
Much of the consistency that Virgin Atlantic customers have come to expect of the cabin crew is because of the carrier’s ‘Red Spirit’ identity that all of its crew rally around. CEO Shai Weiss said: “We know that our people are our secret sauce.” On the ‘Values’ page of Virgin Atlantic’s careers site, the carrier details what it means by ‘think red’. This includes loving going the extra mile, taking a positive attitude, and being determined to find a better way to do things. Cabin crew members must be strong advocates for these values, as they are the place where Virgin Atlantic values interface with customers.
Another key attribute taken forward by cabin crew members is Virgin’s rebellious nature, particularly important during the carrier’s early days. Simple Flying’s former Managing Editor Joanna Bailey spoke with veteran Virgin flight attendant Mary Chaffrey to discuss how Virgin was different and why that was central to its success. This started with the uniform. Where other airlines wore heavy wool suits, Virgin Atlantic cabin crew had light, comfortable, and fashionable outfits. “When we walked through the airport, everyone would stare; everybody was jealous!” said Mary.
The rebel attitude stretched beyond cabin crew service to the products on offer. It was the first carrier to offer premium economy, initially calling it middle class and seeing mixed results. Mary said, “When it was called middle class, people didn’t understand it. Travel agents didn’t understand it, so they would get calls from passengers saying, ‘I want to complain, this is the worst business class product I’ve ever travelled in!’” Yet, the basic idea was a great one, and now most major carriers offer a premium economy product.
Perks To Keep Cabin Crew Happy
Virgin Atlantic’s cabin crew get relatively average base pay and benefits. They can expect to earn £22,447.32 ($30,445.52) per annum in basic salary plus trip pay of around £5,000 ($6,781). This can be higher or lower depending on the amount of flying and flight distance that a flight attendant works. They also receive an overnight allowance and spending money for the time they are away. Other travel benefits are more generous, including seven free-of-fare flights each year to any destination served by Virgin Atlantic, along with 28 days leave per year.
However, the greatest perk enjoyed by Virgin Atlantic staff is the destinations that cabin crew can fly to. Unlike the comparatively unglamorous and busy life of a short-haul flight attendant, Virgin Atlantic is a long-haul only carrier apart from occasional charter flights. Cabin crew get the chance to explore a broad range of destinations, usually with a day or two stopover in between their flights.
Virgin Atlantic says it wants to attract “warm, professional, engaging individuals to be the beating heart of our airline.” The benefits and flights offered to cabin crew will help keep them happy, ensuring that the carrier can retain its best cabin crew. High morale among cabin crew yields better service for customers.
A Rigorous Training Program
Cabin crew training is notoriously tough, and Virgin Atlantic takes things a step further. They run a six-week training program for all new members of the cabin crew. Participants must complete emergency and water-landing simulations, as well as fire and security training, while learning to deliver excellent service. Each day, cabin crew newbies need to pass exams to demonstrate their progress. The training regimen is notoriously physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding, and many new cabin crew members drop out. However, those who survive are prepared to deliver superb service and keep their passengers safe.
Carly, a member of Virgin Atlantic’s cabin crew, spoke about her life as a flight attendant, including the training at the beginning of her career.
“Training was intense. It was a six-week course at our training centre in Crawley. Every day we had an exam we had to pass as well as practical drills to learn. I live in Essex and commuted over three hours every day to Gatwick which made the training extra tiring at times, but what’s six weeks of hard work for a job of a lifetime!” she said.
The reason Carly had to travel to Crawley in the UK every day is that that’s where the carrier keeps “The Rig Hall”. Located at the carrier’s headquarters, the facility includes everything the new cabin crew needs to learn essential safety and service skills. It includes a 747 main deck slide. Completing the training requires each crew member to jump down it. The facility has been designed to create the most realistic training environment possible.
“The trainers run the scenarios, and the crew have the opportunity to work as a team to manage the outcome. This could be a situation on the ground, or inflight,” explains Stella Ponsford, a training design consultant at Virgin Atlantic.
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It Hasn’t All Been Smooth Flying
Virgin Atlantic was less keen to boast about its cabin crew in 2024. Hundreds of its cabin crew members sued the carrier, alleging that COVID-era redundancies unfairly targeted older staff. The claimants argued that Virgin Atlantic had unfairly dismissed them, favored younger staff working on lower wages, and had entered into new agreements. It came off the back of Virgin Atlantic, cutting 40% of its staff, 3,000 jobs, to stay afloat while the jets were grounded during the pandemic.
Where Virgin made younger staff redundant, they established a holding pool. These staff, some with little more than a week’s experience, could be quickly rehired once flights resumed. Meanwhile, managerial cabin crew, often with over 20 years’ experience, were afforded no such perks.
Susan Mcentegart, who had served aboard Virgin Atlantic aircraft for 23 years, explained how brutal Virgin’s decision had been in a conversation with The Guardian:
“It was a devastating loss … It felt like my identity was gone, and I was in a dark place with how they went about it. I’d felt it was an honor to work for Virgin, and I couldn’t believe they’d done what they’d done.” It appears that the legal case remains ongoing.
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Virgin Australia Also Has Excellent Cabin Crew
Two carriers use the Virgin brand: Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. The latter has also been acclaimed for the quality of its cabin crew and has not faced such legal difficulties as described above. In February 2025, Virgin Australia announced that it had won the World’s Best Cabin Crew category in AirlineRatings.com’s 2025 Airline Excellence Awards. It was the 7th consecutive year that Virgintriumphed. The award ranked 380 carriers according to their cabin crew’s safety, value, passenger comfort, and innovation skills. The carrier has received a seven-star rating for safety from AirlinesRatings.com.
“We know our people are exceptional and deliver wonderful service each and every day, so awards like these are fitting recognition by our guests. It also showcases the value of our unique Virgin flair,” said Virgin Australia CEO, Jane Hrdlicka. “Earning the title of World’s Best Cabin Crew for the seventh consecutive time makes me immensely proud of the experience our people consistently deliver onboard.”
2025 was a good year elsewhere in AirlineRatings.com’s awards. It earned third place in the new Hybrid Airlines category. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia’s subsidiary Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA) was also awarded the World’s Best Regional Airline for the second year in a row.
