Virgin Atlantic ordering more aircraft – strong rumour

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Reuters is reporting that Virgin Atlantic and Airbus are on the cusp of a deal for six to 10 new A330neo aircraft. This is not a big surprise, given that the 12 new A350s coming on stream from this Summer are not enough to replace the Boeing 747 and A340 aircraft that are being retired over the next few years.

The A330neo is a refresh of the A330 aircraft which Virgin Atlantic already has in its fleet. The biggest upgrades are to the wings and engines, with a 12% fuel efficiency increase compared to the older A330 model which entered service in 1994. The aircraft also comes with larger overhead bins and is apparently quieter than a Boeing 787.

A330neo aircraft taxiing

Interestingly, the A330neo competes on both capacity and route length with the Boeing 787, of which Virgin Atlantic has 17. Instead of streamlining their future fleet around two aircraft types, the 787s and the new A350s, Virgin Atlantic clearly sees value in operating an additional type.

It may be that Airbus has given them a particularly attractive price for this deal, since sales for the A330neo have been slow. It probably helps that Delta, which owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, also has 35 A330neos on order.

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Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Liam says:

4 Jun4 June 13:11

OT — a geographically targeted Shop Small offer appeared on my Platinum today, targeting the NW6, SW6, and SW19 postcodes. I live in one of those, which is presumably why I’ve got the offer.
- Rob Walker says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:12
  
  I live in BD18 and I got it too 🙂
  - david says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 13:29
    
    RG41 here and received it.
- Michael says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:33
  
  CF31 and also got it
- bsuije says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:48
  
  Also got it and am nowhere near those postcodes. Watch out that it’s for certain retailers only – list is in the T&Cs. That being said, per my understanding, you get the statement credit once per card per business, so that’s good!
- the_real_a says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:59
  
  I live 250 miles away and still got it….
david says:

4 Jun4 June 13:27

O/T: I am not in need currently but curious. If I miss a flight through fault of my own is there a way to use my avios to rebook there and then for a later flight?
- Shoestring says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 13:52
  
  sure, just have a play on BAEC and you’ll see you can buy Avios tickets for this afternoon. I don’t know if there is a cut-off (I haven’t got all day!) but I could get a seat on the 16.10 to Brussels, for example.
  
  I bet the cut-off is about 2hrs before flight time.
  - David says:
    
    4 Jun4 June 14:44
    
    I think the cut-off is less than 1 hour for short-haul – the 45 minute check-in deadline is the blocker.
BJ says:

4 Jun4 June 14:41

My mum made the exact same comment.
John Owens says:

4 Jun4 June 14:52

Having had a really bad experience traveling to St Lucia on one of Virgin Atlantlic’s ex-Air Berlin A330-200’s in Arctic and DVT-inducing conditions in Economy, I can only hope these A330neo’s are an improvement.
Andrew says:

4 Jun4 June 14:58

I keep thinking of Robin Wright’s character when I look at Melamine
Dominic Barrington says:

4 Jun4 June 16:12

I would have loved to attended the summer party, but will be in Singapore with my family, flying there and back in BA First on redemption tickets… all and only because of all I have learned over the years from HfP. My gratitude to Rob and his team is enormous, and I will raise a glass from Asia!
illuminatus says:

4 Jun4 June 16:49

OT – what’s the cost of cancelling a BA reward return ticket in economy to Europe obline? £15?
- John says:
  
  4 Jun4 June 16:56
  
  You get all the avios back and none of the RFS fee, as long as it’s 24 hours or more before departure. If you didn’t qualify for RFS, you get back everything less £35.
Simon says:

4 Jun4 June 17:06

OT beer top up at beer52. If you still have multiple 10 off 20 beer52 offers on various cards and you have previously ordered something. Code “SOLDOUT” knocks a tenner off the shop. £9 beers + postage is about £31. So net cost £11…