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Guides
What are the differences among Virgin Atlantic's Economy Light, Classic and Delight fares?
Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
November 28, 2024 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
Virgin Atlantic offers three economy fare types: Light, Classic and Delight, each with varying inclusions such as checked baggage, seat selection and extra-legroom options.
All fares include a seat in the economy cabin, one carry-on bag, meals, snacks, drinks and inflight entertainment.
Economy Light is the most basic, with no checked bag or advance seat selection, while Classic adds a checked bag and seat selection, and Delight includes extra legroom, priority check-in and boarding.
Economy-class award redemptions always book into Classic, with no option to use points or miles for Light or Delight fares.
What to consider
Checked baggage is not included with Light fares and costs $150 round-trip, making Classic a better value if you need to check a bag.
Seat selection is only included with Classic and Delight; Light fare passengers can pay extra for this option.
Economy Delight offers extra-legroom seats and priority services, but cannot be booked or upgraded to using points or miles.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed comparison of fare types, including cost breakdowns and advice on when each fare offers the best value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Virgin Atlantic offers three different cabins on its aircraft: economy, Premium (premium economy) and Upper Class (business class).
But did you know its economy cabin offers three very different fare types? What are the differences, and which should you choose?
So why are there three different options for the same cabin? Virgin says it is about giving passengers more travel choices and not charging them for things they don’t want or need.
Don’t need checked luggage for a cheeky weekend in New York City? Don’t pay for it.
Want seat selection to ensure you sit next to your travel partner? There’s that option, too.
Economy Delight comes with some perks that airlines usually reserve for their elite members who are flying economy — now everyone can pay for these benefits.
The three options also help Virgin compete with low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways on many of the same routes to the United States. Norse Atlantic offers very low headline fares similar to the Economy Light option with Virgin Atlantic. When fantastic sale fares are advertised with Virgin Atlantic, they will most likely be Economy Light options.
I would argue that an Economy Light fare with Virgin would be significantly better than the same on Norse Atlantic, as Norse Atlantic does not include a carry-on bag, food or drinks for free on its cheapest fares, whereas Virgin Atlantic does.
How much do Virgin Atlantic Economy Light, Classic and Delight cost?
BEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY
Looking at a round trip on the busy route between John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Heathrow Airport (LHR) in May 2025, I can see fares priced as follows:
Economy Light: $583
Economy Classic: $743
Economy Delight: $843
GOOGLEFLIGHTS.COM
So, Classic is $160 more than Light, or around 27% more. Delight is $100 (around 13%) more than Classic and $260 (around 44%) more expensive than Light.
So which type should you go for?
You could assume that Light is cheap for a transatlantic flight on a full-service airline — Norse Atlantic may have a similar price and not include seat selection or checked bags, but it also won’t include a carry-on bag and food and drinks like Virgin.
Another way to look at it is that the Classic and Delight fares are significantly more expensive than the Light option, so consider if you need all those extras bundled together in Classic and Delight fares if you are trying to decide among them. If you can get away with only carry-on luggage for a long weekend and don’t want to upgrade your fare with points, remember that you can pay for seat selection if you wish — even doing that both ways, you’ll still save money versus paying the Classic price.
If you do need to check a bag, note that Virgin will charge a steep $150 round-trip for the privilege on an Economy Light fare, which is nearly the same price difference as upgrading to Economy Classic; you would be better off paying for Economy Classic given it also offers free seat selection and no change fees (a fare difference may apply). An additional $50 each way for an extra-legroom seat could also be a wise investment in Economy Delight, especially given that you can select an exit row seat with a Delight fare.
All Virgin Atlantic economy-class award redemptions book into Economy Classic, whether you redeem Virgin points through Flying Club or use a partner currency like Delta Air Lines SkyMiles miles or Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles.
There is no way to book Economy Light or Delight fares with points or miles, and you cannot upgrade an Economy Classic redemption to Economy Delight with cash, points or miles, which is an odd restriction.
It's easy to boost your Virgin points balance with the right credit card, as Flying Club is a transfer partner of every major program with a transferable currency:
Some of the above programs offer regular transfer bonuses to Flying Club, meaning you might need even fewer points than you first thought.
Many of these programs offer cards that feature terrific welcome bonuses. Here are some of our favorite travel rewards cards that earn transferable points and miles that can be converted to Virgin points:
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (see rates and fees)
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees)
Virgin Atlantic has split its economy cabin into three different fare options.
You only need to pay for what you use, and you can choose between very cheap fares without bells and whistles and fares with almost everything an economy passenger could want.
Always remember that Virgin Atlantic is a full-service airline, so you can earn points and enjoy food, drinks and entertainment on all flights.
If more space is your top priority on long flights, paying for an extra-legroom seat with an Economy Light fare might be a better investment than paying for Economy Delight.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
