Virgin Atlantic has today revealed plans for its new US$5 billion Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet, continuing the airline’s investment in its customer experience. Flying from ‘old’ England to New England, the aircraft’s first route will be between London Heathrow and Boston, with the service scheduled to start on the 28 October and fly six times a week.
It is 30 years since Sir Richard Branson took Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight across the Atlantic from London Heathrow to New York Newark on the 22 June 1984. To celebrate this 30th milestone, the new 787 aircraft is named ‘Birthday Girl’ and features some very special paintwork. For the first time ever, the iconic Virgin Atlantic ‘Flying Lady’ will be displayed face on – and she is carrying a celebratory champagne flute!
After the Boston launch, Virgin Atlantic will deploy its Dreamliners on other key London to US East Coast market initially, with subsequent services between Heathrow and Washington, Heathrow and Newark and Heathrow and New York JFK scheduled to start in the following five months. As the fleet grows, the aircraft will also benefit passengers on longer-haul routes where the on-board experience and fuel efficiency benefits are even further amplified.
Craig Kreeger, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic said, “We are looking forward to welcoming this aircraft to our fleet. For the last 30 years we’ve been proudly serving and delighting our customers and we know the Dreamliner will set us the bar to take that even further, bringing with it new innovations and a cutting edge product for them to enjoy. The 787-9 will make up 40 per cent of our fleet by the end of 2017 which demonstrates our commitment to the Dreamliner as the centrepiece of our future fleet. We are looking forward to the next 30 years.”
Virgin Atlantic will be the first European carrier to take the larger Boeing 787-9 version of the Dreamliner, with the first aircraft planned for delivery in late September. Its aircraft will initially be configured with 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium Economy and 198 Economy seats.
