Virgin Atlantic Has Big Plans for Its Cabins, Lounges, and Inflight Wi-Fi

Virgin Atlantic has quite a few upgrades in the works. Earlier this year, the airline announced free fleetwide Starlink Wi-Fi by 2027, which has already been delivered, along with a few other updates.

Over the next few years, the carrier will add more premium seats, completely overhaul the cabins on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, expand Starlink across these newly updated fleets, and refresh its Clubhouse lounges. There could eventually be good news for Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members, too, as the airline looks to improve award availability through its partnership with Delta.

We sat down with Virgin Atlantic CEO Corneel Koster, Chief Commercial Officer Dave Geer, and David Hodges, Vice President, Americas, in New York to discuss what travelers can expect from the airline over the next few years. Here’s what we learned.

Virgin Atlantic Is Adding More Premium Seats

Virgin Atlantic is gradually changing the makeup of its fleet, which means more premium seats overall.

The airline has several higher-premium Airbus A330-900neos arriving to replace its remaining older Airbus A330-300s, while several Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners are leaving the fleet. The A330-300s are expected to be completely phased out sometime in 2028.

The new A330neos will feature the same seats you can already find on Virgin Atlantic’s existing aircraft, though with more Upper Class and Premium seats.

Virgin Atlantic is also preparing for a much-needed overhaul of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline plans to keep 14 of its 17 current Dreamliners, and those aircraft will eventually feature completely new cabins with more premium seating. The first refurbished Dreamliner is scheduled to enter service by the end of 2028, according to Koster.

“We’re going as fast as is technologically, certification-wise, supply-chain-wise possible,” Koster said, acknowledging that he’d like to complete the project sooner.

Geer said that over the next 4 years, the airline will have roughly 30% more business class seats and 30% more premium-economy seats to sell.

Expect More Starlink Onboard

Virgin Atlantic has already installed Starlink on its entire Airbus A350 fleet, completing the rollout about 5 months ahead of schedule, and it sounds like the 787s are up next.

The airline is working with Boeing to bring Starlink to its entire Dreamliner fleet. The goal is to complete the rollout by the end of this year. The Airbus A330neos should follow next year. Those aircraft aren’t quite as urgent since they already feature Viasat, which Koster called Virgin Atlantic’s fastest and most reliable connectivity system outside Starlink.

Plans To Upgrade Virgin Clubhouses

Virgin Atlantic is also looking to improve its Clubhouse lounges. The airline recently refreshed portions of its flagship London Heathrow (LHR) Clubhouse, with more updates planned over the next year to a year and a half, with New York (JFK) hopefully in the works.

Koster said that Virgin Atlantic plans to upgrade its JFK Clubhouse no later than 2028, though he hopes it will happen sooner. He wouldn’t share designs or specific details yet but said the airline wants the changes to be “really meaningful” and different.

Koster also mentioned that Virgin Atlantic would prefer not to tighten Clubhouse access policies unless necessary. That’s a breath of fresh air as airlines increasingly crack down on crowds and access.

Potential for Better Partner Award Availability

Partner award availability is great, as long as seats are available. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can redeem Virgin Points for Delta flights, and vice versa, but the partner award availability can be limited, especially for more premium seats.

Geer said that improving the availability of these reciprocal awards is something the airlines are exploring through their partnership. There are no concrete changes or timelines yet, but better access to Delta award space could be extremely valuable for U.S.-based Flying Club members, so it’s worth watching.

Final Thoughts

Virgin Atlantic has a few passenger-facing upgrades on the way. Its fleet is focusing on more Upper Class and Premium seats, its Dreamliners are finally getting new cabins in 2028, and the Starlink rollout is ahead of schedule.

Some of these changes aren’t happening right away, but there’s plenty for Virgin Atlantic flyers to look forward to in the meantime.