Virgin Atlantic introduces new A330

Virgin Atlantic’s first Airbus A330 aircraft has now taken to the skies from Manchester to Orlando, signalling the arrival of its new £1.4 billion fleet of 10 planes. The new A330 aircraft will be delivered over the next two years enabling the long haul airline to take more passengers to key destinations including US East Coast, East and West Africa, the Middle East and India.

Virgin’s maiden A330 aircraft, named ‘Beauty Queen’, will be their first long range twin engine aircraft and is the most efficient aircraft in its class today. The new plane will use 15% less fuel per seat than the airline’s A340-300 aircraft, delivering Virgin Atlantic’s commitment to flying a lower carbon fleet.

The airline’s first two A330 aircraft will operate on leisure routes and will have 59 Premium Economy seats and 255 Economy seats. The remaining A330-300 aircraft will be configured in the airline’s three classes: Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy.

Virgin Atlantic’s A330 aircraft will feature a new In Flight Entertainment system by Panasonic. The new system uses the latest touch screen technology which allows passengers to scroll and swipe through over 300 hours of content. Later this year Virgin travellers flying on the A330 will be able to send and receive emails and texts on their Blackberries, handheld PDA’s and other mobile devices.

All Virgin Atlantic A330’s will have UK manufactured Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines.

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Published on May 13, 2011