Virgin Atlantic is having a disaster with its Dreamliners. Dreamliners have become a nightmare across the industry. Japan’s biggest airline, ANA, has been grounding parts of its fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners for the last year after discovering a problem with the plane’s Rolls-Royce engines.
Virgin Atlantic is suffering from the same problem, with the unreliable Dreamliner Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. As a result, many of Virgin Atlantic’s 787 aircraft have been grounded, which will lead to scheduling problems.
Virgin’s Solution
Virgin Atlantic is having to lease aircraft to avoid canceling flights. They chose to lease four old Air Berlin A330-200 planes on a four-year deal. The first of these new Virgin Atlantic A330-200 aircraft is now in operation.
What Is Business Class Like On The New A332?
Decent. It would be best if you were reasonably happy with the Business Class on this plane as the old Upper Class on Virgin’s other planes is now a little dated and certainly not comparable to the best Business Class in the sky.
We have reviewed our flights on Virgin in Upper Class if you want to find out more.
The new Upper Class Seat
Virgin says: “All suites feature direct aisle access and enhanced surface area for additional personal space. All trim and finishes, including the seat fabric with natural and soft Espresso leather, were selected by Virgin’s in-house design team to underline the cabin’s distinctive Virgin Atlantic flair. Customers can continue to choose the perfect suite – including Love Suites, Corner Suites, and Freedom Suites, which have been a huge hit with our customers since being introduced earlier this year.”
The layout is 1-1-1 or 1-2-1 in a staggered arrangement. This means that the best seats on the plane are the single seats rather than the “love seats,” which are basically two business-class seats stuffed together.
The best single seats will be A C D G H & K towards the front of the cabin. The love seats are E & F in the middle of the plane, which should be avoided unless you are traveling as a couple. They have no windows and are on top of each other (as much as you can be on top of each other in Business Class… these are still much better than Economy!).
The worst seat in this Virgin A332 Business Class cabin is probably Seat F, furthest back in the cabin. Why? Because it is jammed next to seat E, it is right next to the toilet, and it doesn’t have a window!
The New Premium Economy And Economy Seats
There are 35 seats in a separate cabin with a seat pitch of 38 inches. In Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper Class, there are power sockets, and there is access to Wi-Fi.
These four refurbished Virgin Atlantic are expected to fly on the Caribbean routes and, from Manchester, on the US routes.
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