Virgin Atlantic made a series of customer experience announcements at an event held at Frameless in London last night.
The headline news is the introduction of free streaming-quality wifi to all cabins for Flying Club members.
The carrier will begin by installing Starlink Wi-Fi technology onto its A350 aircraft at the start of 2026, with the whole fleet expected to be online by the end of 2027.
As previously demonstrated on carriers like Qatar Airways, Starlink’s network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites is a game changer in terms of offering fast, reliable connectivity in the air. Passengers will be able to stream, game and stay connected seamlessly on multiple devices.
CEO Shai Weiss said: “To fulfill the brief that we’ve set ourselves, which is to offer free, basically unlimited, streaming-quality connectivity on a plane, right now there’s only one solution. It is Starlink. We were the first airline to launch Wi-Fi fleet-wide across the Atlantic and now we will be the first fleet to complete this transformation”.
Fleet improvement
An investment of £17 billion in fleet improvement will also see the retrofit of the entire Boeing 787-9 fleet with the first refurbished planes taking to the sky in 2028.
New seat products in all three cabins will be based on the carrier’s A330neo aircraft.
The configuration of the plane will also change, with drastically more premium seats. Premium economy seats will increase to 56 from 35, while Upper class (business) will increase to 44 from 31. Economy seats meanwhile will decrease to 127 from 192. The carrier will also be increasing the number of Retreat Suites in its upper cabin, offering six per plane instead of the current two.
The increased weighting of premium seats will also feature on the carrier’s next ten Airbus deliveries, arriving from Q4 2026. In total 26 of Virgin’s 45 aircraft will feature the higher premium cabin configuration.
This does, however, mean that Virgin Atlantic will be losing the Loft – its social bar area concept – though fans will have until 2030 to enjoy their last visit.
By 2028, Virgin will operate a fleet of 45 aircraft, with 19 A330-900, 12 A350-1000 and 14 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with an average age of just under seven years.
Clubhouse refurbishment
Following the launch of its LAX Clubhouse, Virgin also announced it will be investing millions into refurbishments for its lounges in London and New York JFK.
This will include a refurbishment of the spaces, and a reimagined F&B offering, with a pre-order and preselect function being added to the app. The airline recently launched “Signature 10” menu, with dishes such as The Clubhouse Burger, Mile High Tea, Virgin Atlantic Bloody Mary and Cherry Pie in the Sky ice cream.
A new partnership with premium, ethical skincare brand Votary will also see amenity kits in Upper Class revamped with new face creams starting from next year.
Virgin also announced a new app will launch at the end of 2025, that will feature better integration of Virgin Atlantic Holidays – which revealed added tier point incentives earlier this year.
It will also feature a new Concierge service, thanks to a partnership with OpenAI and Tomoro.ai. The voice-supported technology will be able to offer naturalised, real-time updates to passengers, with passengers able to share screenshots, chat or type to the artificial assistant for things like travel advice or airport navigation.
Loyalty updates
Another interesting development was the announcement of a multi-year loyalty programme, designed to give infrequent flyers the opportunity to gain status.
Virgin operates a fixed tier point structure and claims to offer the fastest tier progression of any loyalty programme for Flying Club members. Details of how the multi-year recognition will work are yet to be revealed.
Summing up the evening, Shai said:
“In the last four decades, we’ve evolved from a challenger to a leader and a premium, long-haul flag carrier. We exist to make our customers smile, it’s that simple – obsessing over finding new ways to delight our guests, delivered by our amazing people, on our journey to become the most loved travel company.
“We are investing billions to fly the youngest fleet across the Atlantic; the first UK airline to have free, streaming quality, fleet-wide wifi; more premium cabins and a full retrofit of the 787 fleet; alongside a new app featuring the world of Virgin Atlantic in your pocket, all delivered by our amazing teams. The best is yet to come.”
