Virgin Atlantic Provides Fleet Update

At the 2024 Farnborough Airshow, Virgin Atlantic ordered additional A330neos and thus completed its fleet transformation efforts.

However, the airline also took the opportunity to delve deeper into the future of its fleet with updates surrounding deliveries and retirements.

The Boeing 787 Future

Several rumours have floated around in recent months involving Virgin Atlantic’s plan regarding the 787 Dreamliner and whether this is an aircraft on the way out because of other fleet movements.

Furthermore, onlookers have argued the positives of consolidating to Airbus widebody operations. Virgin Atlantic confirmed in a recent release that it had extended the lease of seven Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners for the long term.

Therefore, the 787 will continue flying across its network to markets such as North America, the Caribbean, India, and new routes in the future.

However, per the airline’s fleet plan, in July 2024, the commitment to the 787-9 sits at 17 units, but the expectation is that this will reduce to 14 units by the first quarter of 2028.

The Airbus A330 Series

The A330neo will become the airline’s most important aircraft long into the future, cemented by the most recent order for seven units.

These newly announced A330neos will be delivered in 2027 and sourced directly from Airbus. The total commitment to the series now sits at 19 units, and the aircraft have already been deployed to key markets such as Boston, Miami, and New York.

Virgin Atlantic says three more units will be delivered later this year and four more by the end of 2026 in the initial batch of orders. By the first quarter of 2028, all 19 units will have been delivered.

However, because of its commitment to the A330neo, Virgin Atlantic will begin saying goodbye to the ten currently active A330-300s in September 2024, to be directly replaced by the new engine option.

The Airbus A350

Virgin Atlantic won’t take any further A350-1000 jets between now and Q1 of 2028 and will continue using the high-capacity variant for service across markets that require additional seats.

The A350-1000 has proved reliable and a fantastic alternative for the airline’s long-haul operations.