Virgin Atlantic begins fleet renewal, expansion Selects 14 A330neo aircraft

THE British flag carrier, Virgin Atlantic has selected fourteen A330-900s to replace its A330ceos from 2021, with options to further expand its fleet of highly efficient wide-body aircraft.

The firm order for eight aircraft and six additional on lease from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) was signed at the Paris Air Show by Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic CEO and Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO.

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Virgin Atlantic currently operates a fleet of 40 wide-body aircraft and will soon take delivery of its first of 12 A350-1000s. This latest order for A330neos is a further commitment by Virgin Atlantic to continue modernising its fleet with aircraft offering the highest standards of fuel efficiency and noise reduction alongside the best in class cabin comfort.

The A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation.

The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi connectivity systems.

The airline had in March this year unveiled the details of the long-awaited Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to the world in Its base in Crawley, London on April 9, 2019. The unveiling served as the first of the 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft the airline ordered for at the cost of $4.4 billion.