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  Virgin Atlantic

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  VS/VIR

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  London Heathrow Airport

  Year Founded:

  1984

  CEO:

  Shai Weiss

  Country:

  United Kingdom

Virgin Atlantic's cabin interiors of its latest aircraft, the Airbus A330neo, are catching everyone's attention, and for all the right reasons. The airline has invested in Thompson Aero Seating's premium seats, which promise to offer a luxurious traveling experience and be a major selling point for the airline.

Latest product

With every new aircraft that Virgin Atlantic brings to market, it strives to innovate and develop products and services that offer customers something to remember the airline by. The carrier has tried to do the same with the latest addition to its fleet – the Airbus A330neo.

Simple Flying was invited recently for a preview of the cabin of the aircraft, which is scheduled for its first passenger service to Boston in October. The plane can seat 262 passengers in a three-class configuration – 28 Economy Delight seats, 156 standard economy seats, 46 Premium seats, 30 Upper Class suites, and two special Retreat suites.

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Next generation VantageXL seats

Virgin Atlantic has launched a fully customized version of Thompson Aero Seating's acclaimed business-class VantageXL Suite on its latest A330neo aircraft. The generous personal living space of the suites promises to provide passengers a high level of comfort and privacy, with fully enclosed suite doors.

The 30 new Upper Class suites are all forward-facing, each with passenger-controlled mood lighting and a 17.3" touchscreen TV. Each seat also comes with a fully flat horizontal bed with 100% direct-aisle access and a variety of personal stowages.

The bespoke aesthetics and styling were created in close partnership with the Virgin Atlantic and Factorydesign teams. Peter Tennent, Director at Factorydesign, commented,

“It has been our privilege to work in collaboration with Virgin Atlantic’s in-house team and our friends at Thompson Aero to create the new, customised Upper-Class Suite … The final XL products are a triumph and will strongly serve passengers and the wonderful Virgin Atlantic brand for many years.”

Retreat Suite

While all seats in the premium cabin come with elevated luxury features, the two front-row seats - called The Retreat Suite - are the real showstoppers. These two exclusive suites provide the most spacious passenger facility in Virgin Atlantic history.

The Retreat Suite comes with slightly larger 6-foot 7-inch seats (compared with 6ft 5" for the other suites) and has a 27" touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity and wireless charging.

An ottoman can be found in each of these suites that also acts as an additional seat. As a result, up to four people can dine and socialize in their own private area.

Henry Buckley, Design Manager at Virgin Atlantic, commented,

"We have worked to customise the styling, functionality, and product features within our latest Upper-Class suite. In true Virgin Atlantic style, we have then overlaid it with bespoke trim and finish, to give our customers an enriched in-seat experience, that offers style and comfort. We can’t wait for our customers to enjoy it later this year."

If that's not all, the customization selected by Virgin Atlantic also includes an upper stowage area that offers closed stowage; wireless charging; USB charging outlets; wider footwells on aisle-side seats; a large, single-leaf table; an increased console surface area; full-width vertical dropping dividers, and combined feature and reading lights.

It'll be interesting to see how paying passengers respond to these features once the plane begins flying later this year.

What do you think about Virgin Atlantic's latest premium seats? Please leave a comment below.