Red Velvet takes to the skies on its first commercial service to New York City

New Delhi. Virgin Atlantic’s first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, G-VLUX, Red Velvet takes to the skies tomorrow (10th September) for the very first time, flying customers from London Heathrow to New York JFK on the VS153 and the VS138 on the return. With a totally redesigned Upper Class cabin complete with Loft area as well as tailcam and new in-seat ordering feature, this new aircraft is revolutionizing travel. Read on to find out what’s new on Virgin Atlantic’s A350-1000 fleet.

What’s new on the A350-1000

• Five new “Flying Icons” will adorn the fuselage of the brand new A350-1000 fleet. The high flyers are a diverse range of men and women representing modern Britain with Zadie on board G-VLUX (Red Velvet), G-VPOP (Mamma Mia) and G-VJAM (Queen of Hearts) followed by Oscar on G-VPRD (Rain Bow).

• A first for Virgin Atlantic – our new tailcam offers every customer the best view of outside. Customers will be able see their surroundings as if they were sitting on the tail of our fabulous A350. Two views are available – tail cam and front facing from the underside of the aircraft.

• Our innovative new feature in Upper Class allows our customers to order what they want, when they want it from the comfort of their Upper Class seat. Customers can chose their meals and drinks on their IFE screen and this will be sent to the crew who will deliver the order to your seat! No more waiting for meal time!

• The Loft is a unique space for Upper Class customers, and the largest social space across any of Virgin Atlantic’s fleet. It’s a place to gather, chat, grab a drink or dine with friends. As well as enjoying luxe comfort and high end finishes, customers can settle in with Bluetooth headphones and connect to the 32 inch screen – catch a show, or watch the live tailcam

• The redesigned Upper Class suite is the perfect retreat at 30,000 feet. Every seat faces towards the window and boasts enhanced privacy, plenty of space and storage, adjustable mood lighting, an 18.5 inch screen – all with Virgin Atlantic style. features luxurious claret leather with intricate, signature Virgin woven coral stitching

• A redesigned Premium cabin with rich, custom leather seats and high end finishes. Tailored for Virgin Atlantic the Premium seat features luxurious Claret leather seat with intricate stitch detailing, a pressed black wool cocktail tray and meal table, and an Oxblood red upper literature pocket interior

• Six way adjustable headrests ensure comfort on Virgin Atlantic’s newest Economy seats which are designed with bespoke woven fabrics inspired by fashion houses

• Working with Inmarsat and T-Mobile, Virgin Atlantic is offering all customers award-winning GX KA Band wifi connectivity onboard its new A350 aircraft. The cost of wifi is £20.99 for the duration of the flight; however prices start from £2.99 for messaging. Free wifi until 9th October – LivefromVIrgin

• We’re taking inflight entertainment to new levels with the Zodiac Rave System from Zodiac Inflight Innovations (Zii) and our largest ever inflight screens at 18.5” in Upper, 13.3 inches in Premium and 11.6 inches in Economy. Customers will be able to choose from over 100 movies, 300 hours of TV shows, over 350 albums and podcasts and over 45 hours of kids content. Want to watch a movie but still see where you are on the map? Complementing our touchscreen IFE, customers can now pair their smart device to the IFE to control their experience onboard and provide second screen viewing.

Virgin Atlantic has ordered a total of 12 Airbus A350-1000, with them all scheduled to join the fleet by 2021 in an order worth an estimated $4.4 billion (list price.) The first four A350s, Mamma Mia, Red Velvet, Rain Bow and Queen of Hearts, will join the airline’s fleet by the end of 2019 and all four aircraft will initially fly between London Heathrow and New York JFK. Los Angeles will be the second Virgin Atlantic destination to receive the airline’s new A350, from next year.

All of the airline’s initial A350 deliveries will be based at London Heathrow. The final five planes will offer a leisure configuration and will operate routes to Florida and the Caribbean from London Gatwick and Manchester Airport. These deliveries will take place in 2021 as the airline beings to retire its 747 fleet.