As airlines double down on their efforts to attract more high-value flyers including with new “business-plus” products, Virgin Atlantic has signaled it will not rest on its laurels or indeed sit on its hands.
As part of a bevy of enhancements announced last night at Virgin’s first ever Customer Experience Showcase in London, the luxury-focused UK operator has earmarked at least 14 Boeing 787-9s for a complete nose-to-tail refurbishment that will see more seats in Upper Class and Premium, fewer seats in economy, and the introduction of its customized and spacious biz-plus Retreat Suite product to the Dreamliners for the first time.
Furthermore, ten Airbus A330-900neo deliveries are slated to start arriving next year with a more premium-heavy configuration, including more Retreat Suites than found on the SkyTeam alliance member’s existing A330neos.
Virgin will also install SpaceX’s Starlink Ku-band Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite-powered inflight connectivity system across its entire fleet by the end of 2027 to support free Wi-Fi for passengers, in a move that will displace multiple IFC providers at the airline. And it will introduce a new app that promises lots of personalization and Flying Club benefits.
These enhancements “complete our evolution from a challenger to a leader and a premium, long-haul flag carrier,” Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss declared in a statement published on LinkedIn.
“We exist to make our customers smile, it’s that simple — obsessing over finding new ways to delight our guests, delivered by our amazing teams.”
He noted that Virgin is investing billions to fly the youngest fleet across the Atlantic. By 2028, Virgin will operate a mixed fleet of 45 next-gen aircraft, including 19 A330neos (of which ten will sport the new, more premium-heavy interior), 12 Airbus A350-1000s, and 14 787-9s.
Starlink will be offered as a free amenity. Passengers who sign up to Virgin’s Flying Club loyalty program will receive unlimited usage. Image: Virgin
Virgin’s big news falls hard on the heels of American Airlines’ decision to bring its new premium-heavy Boeing 787-9P — with Flagship Suite seats and Preferred biz-plus seats up front — to all flights linking Chicago O’Hare and London Heathrow going forward. And it comes as Starlink adopter United Airlines prepares to take delivery by year-end of the first 787-9 with its new Elevated interiors, including with doored Polaris suites, a new front-row Polaris Studio product, and larger IFE screens throughout. In 2026, United will press the new twinjets into service from San Francisco to London and other routes.
Let’s dive into the details of Virgin’s 787-9 refit.
The redesigned interior, which will start rolling out in 2028, is inspired by Virgin’s current award-winning A330neo interior and as such, the Retreat Suite front-row biz-plus product that was designed in collaboration with Factorydesign for the A330neo will not only be brought to the Dreamliners, but will feature in each of the two Upper Class cabins on board, for a total of eight Retreat Suites.
In order to accommodate the layout, Virgin will replace the social space Bars on these twinjets, Virgin confirms.
“The Bars will be replaced on the 787s with the Retreat Suites. We have loved the Bar, but we have a new vision for our social spaces and the Retreat Suites offer a private space built for sharing and socializing,” a Virgin spokesperson explains to RGN.
The Retreat Suite aboard Virgin’s current A330neos are spacious, offering partner seating and 27″ IFE screens. Image: John Walton
Seats in the 787-9’s Upper Class, which is Virgin’s branding for business class, will increase from 31 to 44, whilst seats in the Premium cabin, Virgin’s branding for premium economy, will increase from 35 to 56. Economy class aboard the 787-9s, meanwhile, will be reduced from 192 to 127 seats and feature the existing extra-legroom “Economy Delight” product as well as regular economy seats with 31” pitch.
Over on the A330neo program, Virgin has opted to offer six Retreat Suites on a batch of ten deliveries that will start joining the fleet in the third quarter of 2026; this represents a threefold increase from the famous two-seat, center pair offering on existing A330neos. Upper Class on the A330neos will be grow from 32 to 48 seats, while Premium seating will rise from 46 seats to 56 seats. Economy class on the ten deliveries will drop from 184 seats to 128 seats.
“This will add more than 400 additional Upper Class seats daily on business and leisure routes including New York JFK, Boston, Tampa, Miami, and Orlando,” Virgin says in a statement.
On board Virgin’s existing A330neos, the Upper Class seat is based on the Thompson Vantage XL+ staggered doored mini-suite; premium economy is the Collins MiQ recliner, and in economy it is the Recaro CL3710 full-featured economy class seat.
Meanwhile, equipage of Starlink to Virgin’s fleet of Airbus A330neos, A350s and Boeing 787-9s will begin in the third quarter of 2026 and is slated to be completed by the end of 2027, Virgin says. That’s in line with the guidance being provided by SpaceX, whose Starlink Aviation web site says supplemental type certification for the 787 is expected to be achieved in the third quarter of 2026. An STC for the A350 is already available.
At present, Virgin has multiple IFC providers, with Intelsat 2Ku (formerly Gogo 2Ku) installed on its A330-300s, Panasonic’s Ku offering on the 787s, Viasat’s GX solution on the A350s and Viasat’s high-capacity Ka-band offering on the A330neos. The aged A330-300s are earmarked for retirement; they are being replaced by the A330neos.
“Congratulations to my friends at Virgin Atlantic who are the latest airline to announce they’re bringing free Starlink Wi-Fi to their entire fleet,” says Starlink Aviation global head Nick Seitz on LinkedIn. He says Virgin will keep passengers connected “as good or better” than they find at home.
Shai Weiss, the Chief Executive Officer at Virgin Atlantic, announced the new enhancements last night during the carrier’s first ever Customer Experience Showcase in London. Image: Virgin
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Featured image of Retreat Suite on the A330neo credited to John Walton
