Virgin Atlantic has placed a follow-on order for seven more Airbus A330-900s and extended leases on seven Boeing 787-9s with AerCap as part of plans to operate an all new-generation widebody fleet of 45 aircraft by 2028.
The UK carrier announced the fresh Airbus order today at the Farnborough air show onboard one of its five existing A330-900s, which is on static display at the show.
The deal takes Virgin’s orders for the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered A330-900s to 19 and completes a fleet transition through which it intends to also operate a dozen A350-1000s and 14 787-9s by the first quarter of 2028.
The new A330-900s will replace the carrier’s remaining A330-300s. Virgin also holds nine purchase options on further A330neos.
Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss says: ”Today, we complete our multi-billion-dollar fleet transformation, with the purchase of seven additional A330-900s. Flying the youngest fleet is the most-readily available and significant lever towards decarbonising long-haul aviation, and we are proud to operate one of the youngest and most fuel- and carbon-efficient fleets across the Atlantic.”
Weiss says the A330-900, which Virgin will take three more of this year and a further four by 2026, has the best net promoter scores from its customers of any of its fleet.
”This is the best performing one and so the idea would be to double up on it,” Weiss says, while noting the carrier was in a ”pretty good position” in terms of securing delivering positions for the aircraft given the wider capacity challenges facing the manufacturers. ”We really are in fortunate position where we have secured positions to complete our transformation and that’s an advantage,” he says,
