Here’s good news for those waiting to try Virgin Atlantic’s new Airbus A330neo.
In the latest winter route news picked up by Head For Points, Virgin Atlantic will introduce its new Airbus A330-900s on five U.S. routes as it plans to slowly transition away from its older Airbus A330-300s. The new model will join Virgin Atlantic’s very modern fleet of Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A350-1000s, with the first entering service at the end of the year. Without wasting anymore time, let’s get into the routes.
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Virgin Atlantic A330neo destinations
London Heathrow to Atlanta
Regularly serviced by an A330-300, the London Heathrow to Atlanta unfortunately will only see the upgraded neo equivalent on March 21 and 25, 2023. These are most likely familiarization flights as its partner Delta Air Lines also operates the same type out of the Atlanta hub. The route may eventually switch to being neo operated, but we will have to wait for a later schedule update.
London Heathrow to Boston
Effective October 12, 2022, Virgin will operate A330neos on flights between Heathrow and Boston with the following exceptions:
- Flights from October 18 through 21, 2022 will see A330-300 service.
- Flights from November 1 through December 6, 2022 will see Boeing 787-9 or Airbus A330-300 service on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Flights from December 13, 2022 to the end of the winter period (March 2023), all Tuesday flights will be operated with A330-300s.
London Heathrow to Miami
Miami will see a soft launch as follows:
- From November 13, 2022, the A330neo will be introduced alongside the existed A330-300 on flights VS5/VS6 with a full transition to neo service from December 9, 2022.
- Note that there is a second flight flying as VS117/VS118 which will be operated with Boeing 787-9s as well.
London Heathrow to New York
New York will also see limited neo service as follows:
- VS9/VS10 on November 7, 2022
- From March 6, 2023 until the end of the season, VS3/VS45 will see neo service between London and New York except on March 9th, 13th, 20th, 21st and 25th.
London Heathrow to Tampa
Virgin’s newest destination Tampa is getting the best hand from the winter deck. The route which will be exclusively served by A330neos will launch on November 3, 2022 with the following frequencies:
- From November 3, 2022 – 4 times weekly service
- From November 21, 2022 – service increases to 5 times per week
- From November 28, 2022 – daily service
Virgin Atlantic A330neo cabin layout
Virgin’s A330neos are configured with 30 updated Upper Class suites split in a 1-2-1 configuration over 8 rows. The standard lie-flat seats extend to 6’4″ with up to 22 inches of seat width, with a 17.3 inch IFE touchscreen display and Bluetooth audio, USB and AC power ports, wireless charging, per suite mood lighting and a do not disturb light.
Additionally, there are 2 “Retreat Suites” in row 1 which feature larger seats that extend to 6’7″ with much larger 27 inch touchscreen displays. The Retreat Suites have electronically controlled privacy partitions, but these two suites can be used together as a single social area. Each suite has an ottoman which doubles as an extra seat, allowing up to four guests the ability to chat or dine together.
Photo: Virgin Atlantic A330neo Retreat Suites
Besides business class, there are 46 Premium Economy seats split in a 2-3-2 configuration over 7 rows (minus 3 in the first row of PE). These seats feature 13.3″ touchscreens with Bluetooth audio, 38″ seat pitch, 18.5″ seat width, and AC, USB-A and wireless charging options. The rest of the aircraft features 184 economy seats in a 2-4-2 config. Passengers booking more legroom in Economy Delight get 34″ seat pitch while regular seats have 31″ seat pitch. There is also AC and USB charging ports in every seat.
[Featured Photo: Virgin Atlantic]
