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Virgin and Qatar new aircraft orders and new Virgin LAX Clubhouse
If you read my interview with Qatar’s CCO earlier, you may be interested to know that Qatar confirmed a further order for B777x at Farnborough yesterday. The airline expanded its initial order of Boeing 777X aircraft to include 20 Boeing 777-9. This is in addition to its existing order of 40 Boeing 777-9 aircraft. The B777X is where Qatar plans to debut its Next Gen QSuite which I wrote about here.
Virgin also completed its fleet transformation to a younger fleet, which will have an average age of 6 years. The airline placed a firm order for seven A330neo aircraft as part of its wider fleet transformation. The agreement takes Virgin Atlantic’s commitment for the A330neo to 19 aircraft in total. This was announced onboard its newest A330neo, named ‘Ruby Rebel’, and registered as GB-VSRB after founder Sir Richard Branson, to celebrate the airline’s 40th anniversary.
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Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic said, “Today, we complete our multi-billion-dollar fleet transformation, with the purchase of seven additional A330-900s, which we know our customers and our people love to fly. Flying the youngest fleet is the most readily available and significant lever towards decarbonising long-haul aviation and we are proud to already operate one of the youngest and most fuel and carbon efficient fleets across the Atlantic.”
“Our special partnership with Airbus began with the arrival of ‘Lady in Red’ in 1993, with our most recent arrival, ‘Ruby Rebel’, arriving to mark our 40th birthday this year. Virgin Atlantic has flown more than 60 Airbus tails in the last three decades. While not first to the party, they’ve been our main dance partner, making our customers smile ever since.”
The current A330neos feature Virgin’s newest business class including the extra-sized Retreat Suite. I would expect them to keep this seat for any future aircraft, perhaps with a few tweaks. There were no other announcements about refurbishing the current seats aboard their B787s, which are the original Virgin Upper-Class seats, and very dated compared to most other business class seats.
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It was also confirmed that the rumors about a new Clubhouse in Los Angeles at the Tom Bradley Terminal are true. The airline is hoping to open the lounge in early 2025 in what was previously the Etihad lounge.
HT: Head for Points
Turkish new business class suites
I was at the unveiling of Turkish Airline’s new business class suites this week. I thought they looked very high-end and were a huge improvement on the current seats.
The new Crystal Business Class suite is the first business class seat from Turkish Airlines to feature an adjustable suite door and privacy panel for more in-flight privacy. These are the same Safran seats that JAL chose for its A350s. Qatar Airlines also announced an update to their QSuite, which was the inspiration for the trend of business class suites with doors.
The new seats feature a 23-inch seat width with increased footwell space with direct aisle access for all passnegers with every window suite having full window visibility. In line with company’s “Flow” brand new suites feature lighter and warmer colors, marble-style table and rose gold finishes. The seats are three inches wider than before.
You can see below the bed in the sleeping position and the footwell. It is definitely wide enough, but it looked a little short on the height for side sleepers if you toss and turn a lot.
The suite has several new and improved features, including adjustable ambient and reading lights, universal and Type C power outlets, a wireless charger, a noise-cancelling audio jack, an adjustable mirror, closed storage, an ergonomic seat cushion, and a 22-inch IFE screen.
Turkish Airlines Chairman of The Board and Executive Committee Prof. Ahmet Bolat stated: “Our new Crystal Business Class suite will add a new chapter for our long-haul luxury travel and will carry the airline into the future with a new level of comfort and privacy across our extensive global network. The specially created design will complement our award-winning in-flight dining options for us to keep providing an unparalleled experience above the clouds for our guests.”
The new seats, set to be featured on the carrier’s transcontinental flights, will be gradually installed on airline’s Airbus A350s on order, as well as planned to be retrofitted on its fleet of Boeing 777 aircraft from 2025. By the end of 2026, Turkish anticipates that 50% of the fleet will have the new suites. At a press briefing they also said they plan to retrofit the B787s as well. They plan to try and standardise the seats across the fleet as much as possible which is good to see.
Turkish are also introducing free Wi-Fi for all passengers when they replace their current Wi-Fi by the end of next year. However, you can already get free Wi-Fi by being a member of Miles & Smiles.
The Chairman also ruled out the concept of having Premium Economy anytime soon as they believe that their business class products are sufficiently affordable for there to be no requirement.
The airline recently launched flights to Australia and confirmed that although it was looking at potential non-stop flights from Istanbul, they plan to keep flights with a stop in Singapore as well since many passengers prefer to break the journey.
BA Safety video
British Airways has launched a new safety video in the style of Bridgerton. Having watched this, I have the same concerns about this as the previous one. If I was not an English speaker (particularly if you haven’t flown before) would I have a clue what they are talking about in all the instructions? I’m pretty sure the answer would be no. I recognise you need to present it in a way that makes it engaging so people pay attention, but it worries me that the actual key points are not obvious.
What do you think of the video? Do you think all passengers would understand it? Let us know in the comments below.
14 comments
If I said what i really think you couldn’t/wouldn’t print it…..
Hi Michele, many thanks for these fascinating insights. Just one point, I think Ruby Rebel’s tail number should be G-VSRB rather than GB-VSRB.
With regards to the new BA safety video. I think, coming from my 30 years as crew, that it makes no little to no difference on how the safety information is given. The majority of people don’t watch or listen. And if the person doesn’t speak or understand English then hows it’s given isn’t going to make much difference. They always have the safety card near them, but who actually reads that?!
In other videos they often have a diagram in the corner of the video showing what they mean. And other ones that I have seen while still creative are obvious what they are referring to by their actions rather than words.
The video is overlong and muddled. The overall important safety messages are lost by the distractions within the video. There are likely to be many BA customers who don’t get the cultural references. I’m sure the production cost of this was not cheap. BA should have saved their money and created something that conveys the messages in a more straightforward way.
The BA video is genuinely wonderful – but also wonderfully unclear!
An excellent production that goes on for far too long, I cannot imagine that many people will watch it right through to the end.
It’s a wonderful production but if they had bothered to ask their customers I’m sure they would have preferred them to keep the existing one – which isn’t that old anyway – and use the customer’s and shareholder’s money on a decent app (and maybe some brandy 🥃 👍)
with you on the brandy!
Sorry to disagree, but I thought that it was quite entertaining – and therefore more likely to retain passengers’ attention (rather like the Qatar one involving famous footballers – none of whom meant anything to me, but then nor I have seen Bridgerton).
As a regular flyer for business and, now retired, travelling regularly for leisure with my wife – and almost exclusively on BA – where we are both Gold Exec Club members, I was underwhelmed by the new safety video.
Obviously a lot of money was spent, maybe with the view of getting passengers’ attentions. But the link between the plot and some of the messages seems tenous to me – and likely to be largely unfathomable to a non-native English speaker. By all means keep it friendly, but please don’t turn it into an anachronistic puzzle, as it appears you have done. I found the video, one before the last one, with reasonable well-known British TV, Theatre and Movie personalities was the most engaging.
I agree with you about the previous video!
If you are a Bridgerton fan you will love it, if not you will be indifferent. It is too long and the production detracts from the key points.
I think a video of a plane crashing and passengers having to evacuate would get people’s attention!! And joking aside, that is the actually scenario you’re training for. Not many evacuations happen from a chez or on horseback.
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