Virgin Atlantic is adding more Premium Economy seats due to demand and by Christmas, the airline”s entire Heathrow-based Boeing 747 fleet will have been fitted out, nearly doubling capacity.
The new layout gives 30 more seats per aircraft, bringing the total up to 62 available per flight.
Premium Economy, which Virgin Atlantic claims to have originated in 1992, doubled in passenger numbers during the first half of this decade. In the ten months since a ”12m revamp, Virgin Atlantic has carried around 950,000 passengers in the cabin, a further 20% increase.
”Having completed the refit across the Airbus fleet, this product exceeded our expectations and has resulted in a 20% growth in our Premium Economy passengers.,” said Virgin CEO, Steve Ridgway.
This is a clear indication that we are streets ahead of our competitors and in order to seize further market share from our competitors, we have decided to increase our capacity in Premium Economy on our Heathrow 747 aircraft.”
The new Premium Economy cabin combines a 38” seat pitch with a width of 21” leather seat which features enhanced ergonomics for improved comfort. It also features a dual position footrest, lumbar support, adjustable headrest with wings, and a redesigned tray table.
All seats provide passengers with lap top power. Other benefits include a dedicated check in and cabin crew, separate cabin, priority with boarding and luggage collection along with a three-choice meal service served on china dinnerware with stainless steel cutlery, and an amenity kit.
Virgin flies with a three-class layout, Upper Class, Premium Economy and economy. It currently operates 38 aircraft, 25 Airbus A340s and 13 Boeing 747s.