Virgin Atlantic will expand its A330-900 fleet with a further seven aircraft on order from Airbus.
The announcement was made on the second day of the Farnborough Airshow 2024, which has so far seen few orders for the European planemaker.
Virgin currently operates five A330neos and has orders for a further seven aircraft. With the new order there will be 19 jets, making the model its largest aircraft, ahead of the A330-300 (ten units) and the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which currently has 17 aircraft.
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“Today, we complete our multi-billion-dollar fleet transformation, with the purchase of seven additional A330-900s, which we know our customers and our people love to fly,” said Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic.
“We are grateful for Virgin Atlantic’s decision to expand its A330neo fleet as part of its strategy to have the youngest fleet across the Atlantic. The A330neo not only delivers unbeatable operational seat mile cost and an exceptional passenger experience, it also greatly enhances Virgin Atlantic’s fleet efficiency and contributes to its sustainability journey,” added Christian Scherer, CEO of Airbus Commercial Aircraft.
Powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, the A330-900 is capable of flying 7,200 nm (13,300 km) non-stop. By the end of June 2024, Airbus had obtained 319 orders for the A330neo from 30 customers.
