Virgin Atlantic has unveiled a new social space for its Upper Class passengers which will be fitted to future Airbus A350 deliveries.
Dubbed ‘The Booth’, the new seating arrangement features a small table and will be tucked away in the cabin to create a “cosy corner, providing comfy lounge-style seating for two,” the airline confirmed.
“The styling and finishes, which include luxurious leather seats and almond gold highlights, are designed to be consistent with the award-winning Loft space featured across our mainline A350 fleet.”
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The new jets, which will also come with a larger Economy class cabin, will operate on select “sunny” routes including London to Orlando, as early as December 2021, and Barbados and other leisure destinations in 2022.
Virgin Atlantic says: “The Booth is encapsulated by two 27” touch screen monitors, allowing customers a window into fully immersive experiences. The content of the monitors will be continuously updated, tailored to the route and time of day, meaning that the look and feel of The Booth will evolve over time.
“Initial content will include a digital art gallery featuring up and coming artists and a tail and belly cam of the aircraft. Additionally, there are two Bluetooth audio jacks, meaning customers can connect headsets to the monitor’s audio.”
The new A350 seat configuration features 397 seats in total – 16 Upper Class suites, 56 Premium seats and 325 in Economy. Within the economy cabin, 45 seats will be Economy Delight, offering customers extra legroom as well as priority boarding and advanced seat selection.
Alongside The Booth, the A350 features the airline’s latest Upper Class suite design, which includes all window facing seats with a 44” pitch and fully flat 82” bed. Every cabin has the largest entertainment screens available on any Virgin Atlantic aircraft.
“We’re famous for our onboard social spaces and the introduction of The Booth elevates the customer proposition for our leisure travellers to new heights. We love creating brilliantly different experiences, which is why we’re always evolving our ideas to offer something different and exciting in the air and on the ground,” said Corneel Koster, our Chief Customer and Operations Officer.
The first aircraft in VS’s new Airbus A350 leisure fleet will be G-VEVE, named Fearless Lady, after Sir Richard Branson’s late mother Eve. Lady Emmeline (G-VLIB), which is inspired by the leader of the women’s suffrage movement Emmeline Pankhurst, will follow in April with the final three aircraft set to be delivered by June 2023.