Will Virgin Atlantic Install New Upper Class On 787 & A330?

It makes sense for VS to put more fuel efficient planes on long haul liesure routes. Economically, they are better off keeping older planes with denser business loads on business routes as these naturally make more money.

I personally disagree with your opinion because I fly Virgin from Orlando to London Gatwick almost every other month. So having the A350 would be awesome!
Currently Virgin operates almost all of their 747's to Orlando from various cities (I believe they have at most 7 daily flights in the summer on the 747 and 1 on an a330).

VS needs to put some A350s at LGW because they are using them to replace the 747 that are based there.

It's good they are doing that because VS will be able to say 'look we have our newest plane and product flying from both airports!' whereas BA will be still operating a dated fleet from LGW for some time and unlikely to get their new suite until the end of the refit programme. Surely as a leisure flyer yourself you believe that leisure flyers should also get the latest products so well done VS for this.

Also VS basically has two fleets - ex-LHR and ex-LGW/MAN/GLA and they very rarely mix them unless some really bad irrops are involved. We aren't going to find an LHR configured 350 flying out of MAN for example.

I vaguely remember reading that VS intended to convert all LHR-JFK flights to A350 as a first priority. That would make sense: they need the big gun of their best product to try to compete against BA’s sheer frequency on that route.

For the rest, it’s the usual problem of an airline having a crazily wide range of hard product on different planes.

Airlines are archetypal brands; the key element of a brand is *consistency* - the customer should know exactly what to expect, and that is what should be delivered. Airlines that have too wide a range are failing at the most basic level.

I know some see me as a BA apologist - God knows why, I am hugely critical of all sorts of things they do - but the one area they excel is in hard-product consistency. For better or worse, take a BA long-haul flight and you know what seat you’ll get. Take an Air France flight and you might get a much better seat - or you may get something that isn’t even a lay-flat bed. That’s really poor brand management, no matter how wonderful is the airport car service at CDG when flying AF 1st.

VS will be the same: it doesn’t matter how nice the lounges are if you end up with a random old-style seat that’s not what you were expecting.

Unfortunately this is what I’d expect from VS: lots of hype focused on the best, and no mention of the typical reality. Some of what they do is genuinely good, but, overall: hype over substance.

I hope the newer a350s still have personal air cents above Seat, as the older 747s I fly with Virgin have.

Do the newer Virgin 787s have personal air vents?

It would be great if lucky could do a list of airlines that still put these on their newer planes, none of the new Jumbo model 747-8s seem to have them and with many newer BA/Lufthansa and most Asian carriers I have been on, they seem to be abandoning the personal cooling vents. But they are something I often consider very important when booking.

Virgin does what it has to do to stay one step ahead in the travel game.

You clearly have no clue re how much it costs to retrofit an aircraft with new seats and certification processes for a small airline like Virgin. Please also note you have the fleet sizes wrong in respect of the A330 and B787.

I just hope some VS folks went to the 2019 aircraft interior expo. Some of the business class seats that debuted there looked innovative and perhaps they can use those or a hybrid of those for the 787/a330. I still remember when VS debuted their 787 back in 2014! Gosh times flies -- can't believe that's mid-life already for the plane!

I guess Virgin don't like Upper Class passengers looking out of the windows. Before, the seats faced inwards and now the windows are blocked by pointless plastic panels.

The story of Virgin and not just the airline is over promise and under delivery. It's endemic throughout the group and disappointment with the offering is the norm. This is no different.

No.
It'll be a fudge.

British Airways are doing the right thing and getting their spectacular Club Suite product to everyone in a relatively short period of time. The rate at which they're planning to retrofit their aircraft means they may install their suites before Qatar Airways can finish the ludicrously slow roll out of the QSuite.

British Airways could be the world's first all suite business class airline and that is something we can all look forward to

I hope the 787’s get the a330 neo business class seat and not the a350 one.