I paid $1,100 to upgrade my flight to first class. It was great, but a few drawbacks made me hesitant to splurge again.

I was interested to see what flying upper class with Virgin Atlantic was like.Emma Kershaw

• I spent $1,100 to fly upper class with Virgin Atlantic from Manchester to New York.
• The three-course dinner was delicious and I slept comfortably.

Flying first class has always been on my bucket list, but I never could afford it until I came across a deal to upgrade my flight from Manchester, England, to New York City.

On the outbound journey, it was $1,100 to fly upper class, which is the airline's version of first class.

The Virgin Atlantic upper-class tickets I've seen usually cost considerably more — I've seen them as pricey as $8,000 — so I snapped up the deal.

My original flight cost $865, which included a premium economy ticket from New York to Manchester and an economy ticket from Manchester to New York.

Here's what flying upper class on Virgin Atlantic was like.