Airline Profile: Virgin Atlantic

Featured Image: A Virgin Atlantic Airbus A330-300 at Washington Dulles Airport

The Facts:

Analysis:

5 Things You Need To Know About Virgin Atlantic

• Virgin Atlantic is currently a long-haul airline only. That means that they only operate widebody aircraft and just fly intercontinental routes (although this year, they will start flying from London to Tel Aviv on an A330, which is considered a medium-haul route). They operate a fleet of Airbus A330-200s, Airbus A330-300s Airbus A340-600s, Boeing 747-400s, and Boeing 787-9s. Additionally, they currently have 12 Airbus A350-1000s on order which they will use to replace their A340s and 747s.
• While Virgin Atlantic bears the name used from the Virgin Group, they aren’t owned by the Virgin Group anymore. The airline was started by Richard Branson (owner of the Virgin Group) about 35 years ago, and they have slowly sold more and more shares away to other airlines, predominantly Delta and Air France-KLM.
• Virgin Atlantic has three main hubs in the United Kingdom. First, its largest is out of London Heathrow Airport where it directly competes with British Airways on some long-haul routes. They fly from there to many business destinations and some leisure destinations around the world. Secondly, they have a smaller hub in London Gatwick Airport from which they fly to leisure destinations around the world such as Las Vegas or destinations in the Caribbean. Finally, they have a smaller hub at Manchester Airport where they fly to a handful of airports throughout North America.
• Virgin Atlantic used to operate a small fleet of Airbus A320s which it leased from Aer Lingus which it dubbed “Virgin Atlantic Little Red.” It was created after Virgin Atlantic ceased to have connecting traffic through British Midland Airways when British Airways bought it. It flew from London Heathrow to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Manchester. It was shut down in 2017 when Virgin Atlantic deemed that it was unprofitable to them and the aircraft were returned to Aer Lingus.

• Flybe, a regional airline that flies to many small airports in Europe, mostly out of the UK (and has almost 80 aircraft), has recently gone through financial trouble. Virgin Atlantic has joined forces with Stobart Air, another small airline which leases out narrowbody and regional planes, to takeover Flybe. Flybe has accepted a bid by Virgin Atlantic and Stobart Air together for only £2.2 million which is a sharp decrease from the £300 million which Flybe was worth five years ago. Once the takeover (which is by now almost guaranteed) occurs, it would nearly double the number of planes in Virgin Atlantic’s fleet and would incorporate two vastly different airline models. Virgin Atlantic only has large widebody aircraft while Flybe only has small turboprop Bombardier Q400s and Embraer E175s and E190s. The two airlines together would mean that Virgin Atlantic would have huge planes and some tiny planes. While not confirmed, it would be logical for Virgin Atlantic to buy some more slots at London Heathrow in addition to Flybe’s current slots to increase the ability for passengers to connect from long-haul destinations to regional destinations within Europe. Virgin would likely also scale down Flybe’s regional flights from small airports such as Exeter to other smaller airports. It also remains to be seen if the aircraft would stay in a Flybe livery and the airline would just be a subsidiary of Virgin Atlantic, or whether all of their planes would be repainted in the Virgin livery.

Travel Classes:

Economy Class:

On Virgin Atlantic, economy class is in a 2-4-2 configuration on all Airbus A330-200s, Airbus A330-300s, and A340-600s. It is also in a 3-3-3 configuration on all Boeing 787-9s and is in a 3-4-3 configuration on all Boeing 747-400s. Personal on-demand entertainment, power outlets (with the exception of some A330s and A340s), and WiFi (for purchase) are available on all aircraft. Warm meals, drinks, and snacks are available free of charge for all passengers regardless of the fare class the one books.

Virgin Atlantic has three fare classes for Economy. First, the lowest fare is Economy Light and does not allow a person to check luggage, only lets them take a small carryon onboard, and doesn’t allow seat assignments until check-in. Secondly, Economy Classic is the middle fare for economy class. It includes free food, one 23kg checked bag, a carry-on, food selection at booking, and allows upgrades with miles. Finally, Economy Delight is the most premium version of Economy Class on Virgin Atlantic. It includes free food, one 23kg checked bag, a carry-on bag, seat selection at booking, priority boarding, premium check-in, and most importantly, access to extra-legroom seats at the front of the cabin.

Premium:

Virgin Atlantic currently offers Premium (premium economy) on all aircraft. It is in a 2-3-2 configuration on all Boeing 787s, Airbus A340s, and Airbus A330s and is in a 2-4-2 configuration on all Boeing 747s (lower deck), and is in a 2-2 configuration on the upper deck of 747s. It features seats which are more comfortable than in economy class (as they have more padding) and also have headrests, leg rests, footrests, and more recline, which is pretty standard for premium economy cabins. Additionally, passengers have access to priority check-in and bag drop and to priority boarding. Also, passengers receive amenity kits and better food than in economy class. Finally, passengers can check two 23kg (50lbs) bags, which is a quite generous allowance for premium economy.

Upper Class:

Upper class is featured on all long-haul aircraft and is Virgin Atlantic’s version of business class. Passengers receive a chauffer service to and from the airport from most airports, including London Heathrow and London Gatwick. At London Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic has a dedicated drop-off area called the Upper Class Wing. It has a check-in area for both Virgin Atlantic and Delta passengers, an exclusive security area, and leads directly into the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse. Speaking of which, Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses are pretty good for business class lounges, and feature spas (London Heathrow, Gatwick, and JFK only), different seating areas, showers, game rooms, and dining with full entrees.

On-board, passengers receive multi-course meals, as would be expected on long-haul flights. On shorter US flights (eastbound), passengers can opt for an express meal service which is a nice gesture as many of those flights are extremely short – most passengers will want to get as much sleep as they can get. In addition, passengers receive bedding which consists of two pillows and a blanket. Passengers can check up to three 32 kg (70lbs) bags for each flight, which is generous, especially for business class. Virgin also has bars onboard all of their A330-300s, A340s, and 787s which have multiple seats and sometimes have a bartender. Virgin Atlantic currently uses two business class seats, which are listed below.

• Herringbone: Unfortunately, while Virgin Atlantic has a great soft-product and lounges, the backbone of their business-class seats aren’t great. Virgin Atlantic features herringbone seats onboard the vast majority of their aircraft, including the Airbus A330-300, Airbus A340-600, Boeing 747-400, and the Boeing 787-9. These seats are extremely narrow, have almost no privacy, and face the aisle. When sleeping, your head will be by the window or center of the cabin and you will be facing the row across from you while reclined. This doesn’t give the seats much privacy at all and while all the seats do have access to the aisle, I would say that most seats without all aisle access which still lay flat are better than Herringbone seats. To make matters worse, one has to flip the seat over to recline at all in their seats, meaning that the seat will either be in the fully flat position or will be fully upright, which makes the seat less than ideal for day flights or for people who rather would sleep at an angle. Overall, Virgin Atlantic’s most common seat really isn’t that great, although still is better than any recliner or angle-flat seat.

• Staggered: After AirBerlin died, Virgin Atlantic acquired four of their Airbus A330-200s. These aircraft featured staggered flat bed seats in a 1-2-1 configuration which have all aisle access. As they feature significantly more privacy than the herringbone seats and don’t only have to be upright or in a fully flat-bed position, they are much better than their herringbone seats. Virgin Atlantic recently refreshed their A330-200s, although luckily they didn’t replace the business class seats with their herringbone seats, but rather refreshed the cabin’s finishings and added premium economy to them. Overall, the staggered seats are much better than their herringbone seats, although unfortunately are only featured on four aircraft.

• Virgin Atlantic intends to introduce a new business class seat on their Airbus A350-1000s which they will take delivery of this year. They haven’t released any details of the new seat, although some speculate that they will use a version of Delta’s new Delta One Suite which has doors and is based off of the Thompson Vantage XL seat due to the two airline’s close partnership.

Future Routes:

• London-Heathrow to Tel Aviv – Begins September 25, 2019 – Airbus A330-300
• London Heathrow to Las Vegas – Begins March 31, 2019 – Boeing 787-9
• London Heathrow to Manchester – Begins May 26, 2019 – Airbus A330-200

Have you ever flown on Virgin Atlantic? Share about your experience below in the comments section!