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A new breed of upper class at Virgin
Following a US$100 million investment program including a new Clubhouse at New York's JFK airport, Virgin Atlantic has unveiled its redesigned Upper Class cabin complete with an all-new Upper Class Suite and bar.
The Upper Class Suite has so far been fitted to the airline's new Airbus A330-300s on the Heathrow to JFK route and is going to be rolled out across all aircraft joining Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow fleet over the next three years. The next route to fly the redesigned cabin will be the new Mumbai service commencing on the 28th October 2012.
Virgin Atlantic's CEO Steve Ridgway commented: “Virgin Atlantic is famous for its pioneering product, and this investment will again establish our position as the leader in airline innovation and customer experience. We know that two thirds of our transatlantic travellers already believe we offer a superior business class experience to our rivals but that is no reason to stop reaching for the skies.”
Right: The new colour palette for the seat, including 'espresso' leather, offers a more restful immediate environment
The Virgin Atlantic in-house design team began working on the new Upper Class cabin four years ago in conjunction with Pengelly Design (for the seat element) and VW+BS (for the bar and interior elements) and now offers the longest bar in the sky (2.7m), plus a 87in-long bed featuring a new comfort system. In addition, the seat, manufactured by Threesixty Aerospace – previously named Reynard Aviation – now offers an extra 1.5in seat width plus up to 50% more recline, and retains its 'flip over' bed function.
The bar has been repositioned separate to the Upper Class cabin, providing a more welcoming entrance to the aircraft. Further welcoming touches include a new mood lighting system from lighting expert DHA, which changes colour throughout the flight to help passengers relax and unwind, while the application of more than 1,000 Swarovski crystal accents add some subtle sparkle.
Each seat has a 12.1in touchscreen monitor with a touchscreen handset, and is loaded with Virgin Atlantic’s new JAM IFE system, which allows passengers to connect their smart phone, USB stick or tablet to JAM, and watch, read or listen to their own content, plus charge the device.
Part of the development process in developing its new Upper Class products, Virgin Atlantic recruited groups of its most frequent fliers to test the concepts and feed into their development - even allowing some to try out the beds with an overnight stay in the airline’s test facility.
The new Upper Class Suite is initially flying on flight VS003 from Heathrow to New York JFK and the VS004 back to London. Aircraft Interiors International was on board the inaugural flight – complete with those ice cubes – and will bring you the full story of the new cabin in the June issue.
In the meantime, you can explore the new cabin at http://www.virginatlanticplaneview.com/
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