Virgin Atlantic orders 14 Airbus A330-900neo aircraft (plus six options)

Virgin Atlantic today announced a spectacular order at the International Paris Air Show, the U.K. based airline will order 14 Airbus A330-900neo’s plus six options. The aircraft – powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 – are expected to be delivered between 2021 and 2024. The airline is talking about an “ambitious fleet transformation”.

Virgin Atlantic has selected 14 A330-900s to replace its A330ceos from 2021, with options to further expand its fleet of highly efficient wide-body aircraft. The firm order for eight aircraft and six additional on lease from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), was signed at the Paris Air Show by Shai Weiss, Virgin Atlantic CEO and Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO.

The A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation.

The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems.

Le Bourget, 17 June 2019