Three new seating styles are being introduced in Upper Class on four Airbus A330s being drafted into the Virgin Atlantic fleet.
The aircraft are being leased from collapsed carrier Air Berlin due to a shortage of Rolls Royce engines for the UK airline’s fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The 19 seats in Upper Class includes ‘love suites’ located in the centre of the cabin for couples or pairs of passengers travelling and looking to dine and watch films together.
The configuration also includes solo freedom suites where passengers can stretch out with direct aisle access. Solo window corner suites also aisle access.
Passengers paying extra to travel in Upper Class will have wi-fi access with free messaging.
Each of the Airbus widebody aircraft will carry 46 economy extra legroom seats and 222 economy seats.
The A330-200s will be fitted with the airline’s premium economy cabin towards the end of 2018, featuring the signature Wonder Wall.
The 287-seat aircraft will initially run flights from Manchester to New York, Boston, San Francisco and Barbados from March.
The airline’s operations executive vice president Phil Maher said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming four A330-200s to the Virgin Atlantic fleet this March.
“These aircraft will add resilience to our flying programme in light of an industry wide shortage of Trent 1000 engines used on our Boeing 787 aircraft.
“Featuring our iconic Virgin Atlantic livery and crewed by our world class pilots and cabin crew, these aircraft will offer our award winning food, drink and in-flight entertainment.
“The Upper Class cabin introduces three new styles of seating for customers to choose from, as well as extra touches such as a barista style coffee menu and free wi-fi messaging.
“The economy cabin offers 222 seats, and we’re investing in a premium economy cabin for each aircraft, to be fitted towards the end of the year.”
