Virgin Atlantic has placed an order for 14 Airbus A330-900s, with options for six more during a signing ceremony at the 2019 Paris Airshow.
Attending the order ceremony was the CEO of Airbus, Guillaume Faury and the CEO of Virgin Atlantic, Shai Weiss.
Set to replace their existing Airbus A330s, the aircraft will be delivered from 2021 through to 2024.
With the A350-1000 joining Virgin Atlantic’s fleet very soon, the addition of the A330-900 will allow the airline to undergo the biggest fleet evolution ever, with an average fleet age of 5.4 by 2024.
Powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engine, Virgin Atlantic will benefit from similar operating performance and maintenance to the Trent XWB that exclusively powers the A350.
Despite the Trent 1000 engine problems that have grounded their fleet of Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, Virgin Atlantic and Rolls-Royce remain confident the Trent 7000 will not suffer from any issues.
As a last minute note, Shai Weiss added the aircraft will come with a new business class cabin that passengers will find “interesting”.
For all the coverage from the 2019 Paris Airshow, stick around on this blog and its associated social media!
