Virgin Atlantic has unveiled its brand new Upper Class suite which will launch on the carrier’s A350-1000 aircraft this summer.
The carrier has moved away from its current herringbone Upper Class layout. Where seats face into the cabin, to a new 1-2-1 configuration with seats facing outwards towards the windows.
Features include a 44-inch seat pitch, with the seat converting into an 82-inch fully flat bed, and the carrier stresses that “All suites will transition seamlessly from an upright seat, straight to a bed”, meaning no more having to get out of the seat to flip it over into bed mode.
There is an 18.5-inch screen, with passengers able to control the in flight entertainment system through their personal devices, and a deployable privacy screen.
Upper Class customers will have access to the new A350 social space The Loft, which features a 32-inch TV screen, with the ability to connect individual headsets via Bluetooth.
Premium and economy seats have also updated with larger in flight entertainment screens (13.3 inches in Premium and 11.6 inches in economy), with increased storage space in Premium, and new fabrics in economy. All passengers have access to “high-speed wifi”.
The carrier’s A350 will initially launch on the London Heathrow-New York JFK route from August, with four of the carrier’s six flights per day on the route set to feature the A350 by the end of the year.
Virgin is scheduled to take delivery of four A350s this year, and has a total of eight on order for delivery by 2021.
The airline confirmed that there are currently no plans to retrofit the new suite on existing aircraft, with its A330 fleet recently having a refit, and the A340s and B747s set to be retired by the end of 2021.
Commenting on the unveiling Mark Anderson, Executive Vice President Customer, at Virgin Atlantic said:
“The introduction of our A350 represents a true evolution of our customer experience. We believe flying should be exciting, whether it’s your first or 100th flight with us and that’s why we’ve elevated our offering to provide our customers with something totally unique.
“The A350 forms a significant part of our fleet transformation strategy and by 2022, we’ll have our youngest, cleanest, greenest fleet in the sky as the aircraft transforms our customer experience, reduces our environmental impact and improves our route economics.”
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