Virgin Atlantic A330-900neo - Farnborough 2024

A well-loved British airline will showcase their latest aircraft at Farnborough International 2024 – Virgin Atlantic will attend the aviation extravaganza with a new Airbus A330-900neo

Becoming the first UK airline to place an order for the type in 2019, Virgin Atlantic signed up for 16 x A330-900neo’s exclusively powered by the Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines, an evolution of the Trent 700. Currently, five A330-900neo’s are in service with Virgin Atlantic with a further 3 on immediate order, due shortly. These are G-VEWR, G-VPIE & G-VRIF.

Images by Virgin Atlantic

Celebrating 40 years of operations this year, Virgin Atlantic, a firm favourite with the travelling public, are well known for their amusing and light-hearted take on air travel – an event is always brighter with Virgin’s presence.

The airlines A330-900neo cabin is configured with C32 W48 Y185 seating. A range of up to 7,200 nautical miles ensures locations on both east and west US coasts are easily reached along with routes to the Middle East and Asia. However, to date it appears the latest Airbus wide-body is on a tight leash, serving New York, Boston, Atlanta and Florida from Heathrow. On these US east coast route’s surely the ‘900neo’s full economic potential remains untapped for now.

One of the few visual cues marking the A330neo from the A330ceo is it’s new wing design. Together the innovative ‘sharklet’ wingtip with the twisted high-aspect ratio wing shape, help develop greater aerodynamic efficiency with lower drag and higher lift throughout all speed settings. Up to 11% reduction in fuel burn has been achieved over the A330ceo resulting in enormous annual savings on fuel for Virgin Atlantic while benefiting the environment.

Flying with 20+ airlines, other notable customers of the A330-900neo include Delta Air Lines, TAP Air Portugal, Condor, ITA Airways, Lion Air, Cebu Pacific, Azul Brazilian Airlines and Corsair International.

Whether it’s sighted at a congested international apron or the highly anticipated Farnborough 2024 air show, there’s no denying a Virgin Atlantic aircraft has a mysterious effect of putting a smile on your face.      

Images by Virgin Atlantic