Virgin Atlantic has confirmed that its Heathrow-Los Angeles service will be the second route to feature its A350 aircraft.
The carrier took delivery of the first of 12 A350-1000s this week, ahead of the planned launch of transatlantic services to New York JFK from September 10.
Virgin will initially focus on adding further A350s to its key Heathrow-JFK route, but the airline has also now confirmed that the second destination to see the aircraft will be LA “from next year”.
The announcement was made as part of a wider press release detailing an increase in UK-US services in partnership with Delta next summer.
As previously reported, the carrier’s A350 features a brand new Upper Class Suite. Virgin has moved away from its current herringbone Upper Class layout (where seats face into the cabin), to a new 1-2-1 configuration with seats facing outwards towards the windows.
Features include a 44-inch seat pitch, with the seat converting into a fully flat bed measuring up to 82 inches, and the carrier stresses that “All suites will transition seamlessly from an upright seat, straight to a bed”, meaning no more having to get out of the seat to flip it over into bed mode.
Upper Class customers will have access to the new A350 social space The Loft, which features a 32-inch TV screen, with the ability to connect individual headsets via Bluetooth.
Last week the airline released a CGI video showcasing the A350 interiors.
Virgin is scheduled to take delivery of four A350s this year, and has a further eight on order for delivery by 2021.
