Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.
Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.

Virgin Atlantic orders 12 Airbus A350-1000 #FAS16

July 11, 2016 1 Comment 610 Views

British carrier Virgin Atlantic has announced an order for 12 Airbus A350-1000s. The order is worth $4.4 billion at list prices, though airlines get a substantial discount. Eight of 12 ordered aircraft will be purchased and balance four will be leased. The Virgin A350’s will be powered by British made Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.
Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.
Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.
Airbus CGI of Virgin Atlantic A350-1000.

The -1000 is the longest variant of the French airframer’s newest state of the art carbon-fibre aircraft which offers significantly lower fuel consumption and noise. Some passenger benefits include large panoramic windows, cleaner air with an advanced filtration system, lower cabin altitude which reduces fatigue and jet lag, and larger cabin baggage storage bins.

Virgin and Airbus executives at the press conference.
Virgin and Airbus executives at the press conference.

The Virgin A350-1000 will have two configurations. The business fleet will seat 360 while the leisure aircraft will seat 410. Virgin is conduction research and will decide the cabin product. The A350s will replace Virgin Atlantic’s remaining Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A340-600s, and deliveries will commence from early 2019.

A350-1000s on US routes

Virgin currently flies only to New Delhi in India, but it is with their Boeing 787-9 which is currently the newest generation jetliner in the airline’s fleet.

The new A350-1000s will operate from both London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports. Virgin will initially deploy its A350s on trans-Atlantic routes serving its key business destinations in the United States.

About Devesh Agarwal

A electronics and automotive product management, marketing and branding expert, he was awarded a silver medal at the Lockheed Martin innovation competition 2010. He is ranked 6th on Mashable's list of aviation pros on Twitter and in addition to Bangalore Aviation, he has contributed to leading publications like Aviation Week, Conde Nast Traveller India, The Economic Times, and The Mint (a Wall Street Journal content partner). He remains a frequent flier and shares the good, the bad, and the ugly about the Indian aviation industry without fear or favour.

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One comment

  1. Akhilesh Urs
    July 11, 2016 at 22:20

    Will virgin Atlantic expand Indian destinations ….

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