Virgin Atlantic held a large PR event on Tuesday night to announce a raft of improvements for the next few years. It was an impressive array which spanned all areas of the customer experience. I’m already a fan of Virgin as I find them very consistent and love the Clubhouses. I know one of the things that puts people off is the variety of Upper Class seats, so read on as Virgin are addressing this.
In this post:
Fleet and Retrofitting Upper Class
Following the completion of its $17 billion fleet transformation, by 2028, Virgin Atlantic will operate a mixed fleet of 45 100% next-generation fuel-efficient aircraft, including 19 A330-900s, 12 A350-1000s, and 14 787-9s, with an average age of just under seven years. The average among their competitors is around 13 years, which is a substantial difference.
Due to high demand for premium cabins, the premium seats will be increased in its fleet as part of a retrofit and on new deliveries. The extra seats should help balance supply and demand, thereby dampening prices and allowing for more seats at reasonable prices on redemption.
787-9 Fleet
The airline’s Boeing 787-9s will get a full cabin re-design, introducing new seating in all three cabins. The cabins will be inspired by the award-winning A330neo design, which I really like. Both the Upper Class and Premium cabins will increase in size, offering 44 Upper Class seats and 56 Premium seats (up from 31 and 35, respectively). For the first time, the Retreat Suite will be introduced to the 787-9, with eight seats available in every Upper Class cabin. Currently, there are only two on each flight . The only negative is that this will now form the only social space on board which is a great shame. RIP, the Virgin bar onboard.
Hopefully, the pricing stays the same as these can be only around £200 more than a regular Upper Class seat, but are substantially better.
The Economy cabin will reduce from 192 to 127 seats featuring existing Economy Delight, Classic and Light products. Rolling out from 2028 and completed by 2030.
More Premium Seats on A330neo
From Q3 2026, ten A330neo will be delivered configured with increased premium cabins, boasting 48 Upper Class, 56 Premium and 128 Economy (vs 32, 46 and 184 respectively). Following its introduction in 2022, four more Retreat Suites will be added into the A330neo Upper Class cabin. With a total of six per aircraft, the Retreat Suite is the airline’s most spacious suite yet. The suite comprises a 6ft 7” direct seat to a fully flat bed, a 27” touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity, wireless charging, and an ottoman that doubles up as an extra seat, allowing up to four people to comfortably dine, work, or socialise.
Flying Club
Shai Weiss, their CEO, had a sly dig at BA’s The Club when he made a point to say how inclusive the Flying Club is, unlike their competitors! They also illustrated how it’s twice as quick to get status with Virgin versus BA when using a business class flight to New York JFK as an example. The simplicity of the scheme was also emphasised.
Flying Club will be introducing recognition for guests with multi-year loyalty who may not travel enough for tier status progression. This follows previous innovations like reward flights counting towards status, non-expiring points, and Unlimited Availability of reward seats in 2024. Details to follow. I love this idea. As Virgin doesn’t have a large route network, it may be that people travel with Virgin less than they might with an airline that does short-haul too, so I think this is a fantastic idea to keep people loyal. It would certainly encourage me to stick with Virgin.
Free streaming wi-fi with Starlink
Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to introduce fleet-wide Wi-Fi across the Atlantic in 2017, and now it is the first UK airline to announce a partnership with Starlink, the world’s fastest wi-fi. Free, streaming-quality Wi-Fi will be available across its fleet, with unlimited usage for every guest who signs up to Flying Club. This is also very impressive and makes other airlines free messaging offerings look rather pathetic in comparison.
The new service will allow you to connect from the moment you board the aircraft, which is very useful. The installation across the airline’s entire fleet of Airbus A330neos, A350s and Boeing 787s will begin in Q3 2026 and be completed by the end of 2027.
New Mobile app
Available from December 2025, the new mobile app is designed to ” put the world of Virgin Atlantic in the pocket of every guest”, making their experience faster and simpler. The new app integrates both airline and holiday journeys into one platform. Guests will be able to search and book Flights and Holidays directly through the app,and have time-sensitive notifications that feature on the lock screen like Uber or Flighty already have. I really find these sorts of notifications useful, so I’m looking forward to having those.
The Virgin Atlantic AI Concierge
Virgin Atlantic, in partnership with OpenAI and Tomoro.ai, is the first European airline to integrate advanced voice mode through the Realtime API. Accessible through the Virgin Atlantic app, the concierge provides personalised, hands-free assistance when needed, anytime, anywhere and in any language. You can tap, scan or speak to get travel ideas, airport navigation, and more, offering quick support on the go. We saw a demonstration and I thought it seemed very realistic. A world away from the chatbots that many businesses are using. This felt like an interaction with a real person. It can help with various tasks, such as planning your destination, finding nearby restaurants, and providing information about your flights and Flying Club. The app will also feature dynamic boarding passes, which will update if there is a new seat or other change, which is very useful. The app will also have biometric login.
Exclusive partnership with Joby
In March, Virgin Atlantic announced an exclusive UK partnership with Joby, the global electric air taxi service company.. The partnership will bring fast, short-haul emissions free travel, connecting airport hubs and cities across the UK. Launch of this exciting service is expected before the end of the decade once all regulatory and safety approvals have been obtained. London will be the third country in the world where Joby launches after Dubai and New York.
Virgin Clubhouses
In my opinion, Virgin Clubhouses are some of the best lounges around, although it’s not been the same since the hair and beauty salon closed in my opinion. Following the successful opening of the Los Angeles Clubhouse in March, a multi-million-pound investment will focus on the refurbishment of both the London Heathrow and New York JFK Clubhouses. Let’s hope they may consider bringing back the salon! Even if you had to pay for it, I’d be quite happy
Food and drink onboard
The Signature Ten
The airline has recently launched ten signature food and beverage creations, each unmistakably Virgin Atlantic, including The Clubhouse Burger, The Red Head cocktail, Mile High Tea, plus recently launched Virgin Atlantic Bloody Mary and Cherry Pie in the Sky Ice-cream. Silver and El Alto Tequila by Patron are one of the last three signatures to be launched.
New Upper Class amenity kits
In a new partnership, Votary will provide luxurious new skincare. Thoughtfully crafted to be kind to the skin and to the planet, guests will enjoy indulgent wellness from the moment they step onboard. The first stage of the partnership will see Votary products such as face creams and mists, multi balms and hand creams as part of the Upper Class amenity kit, due to be on board from the beginning of next year.
Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic, commented;
“In the last four decades, we’ve evolved from a challenger to a leader and a premium, long-haul flag carrier. We exist to make our customers smile, it’s that simple – obsessing over finding new ways to delight our guests, delivered by our amazing people, on our journey to become the most loved travel company. We are investing billions to fly the youngest fleet across the Atlantic; the first UK airline to have free, streaming quality, fleet-wide Wi-Fi; more premium cabins and a full retrofit of the 787 fleet; alongside a new app featuring the world of Virgin Atlantic in your pocket, all delivered by our amazing teams. The best is yet to come.”
Siobhan Fitzpatrick, CXO, Virgin Atlantic, commented;
“Our announcements today provide a snapshot into the future of how we care, serve, and delight every single one of our guests. Every new product, partnership and platform unveiled has been shaped by guest insight and fuelled by our people’s ingenuity. We understand who our guests are and everything we do begins with them, as we use our insights to create thoughtful experiences that feel brilliantly different.”
