Virgin's First A330-900neo Flies Passengers for the First Time

Thursday, October 27, 2022, was a big day for Virgin Atlantic.

The airline’s first passenger-carrying A330-900neo (registered G-VJAZ) took to the skies on its inaugural flight to Boston (BOS).

Delivered to the airline just 2 weeks prior, G-VJAZ is the first of the type to enter service for the airline.

Here’s what we know about the aircraft’s future at Virgin.

Table of Contents

Virgin’s First A330-900neo Takes to the Skies
What To Expect From the NEO
Final Thoughts

Virgin’s First A330-900neo Takes to the Skies

The first destination for the state-of-the-art Airbus A330-900neo was Boston (BOS).

Its inaugural flight departed London Heathrow (LHR) around 17 minutes after its scheduled departure but still arrived early in Boston.

The aircraft will operate Virgin’s once-daily return service to Boston as flights VS11 and VS12 with the following schedule:

Depart London Heathrow (LHR) 5:30 p.m. — Arrive Boston (BOS) 8:15 p.m.
Depart Boston (BOS) 10:15 p.m. — Arrive London Heathrow (LHR) 10 a.m. (+1)

Bottom Line: The A330neo is a bit of a big deal. We were at Virgin’s first look event in July where we got to experience firsthand what it would be like to fly the state-of-the-art new aircraft.

The second destination to welcome the NEO will be Tampa (TPA) — a brand-new destination for Virgin Atlantic.

The inaugural flight will depart on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, with all the hype and media attention that comes with such a celebration.

Wednesday’s inaugural will depart at 8 a.m. which is several hours earlier than the regular schedule for the route, which is as follows:

Depart London Heathrow (LHR) 1:25 p.m. — Arrive Tampa (TPA) 7:35 p.m.
Depart Tampa (TPA) 10:50 p.m. — Arrive London Heathrow (LHR) 10:15 (+1)

With the introduction of the Tampa route, we’ll see Virgin’s second jet of the type enter into service.

Virgin has so far taken delivery of 3 Airbus A330-900neos and is expecting to have taken delivery of the entire fleet of the 16 it has on order by the end of 2026.

What To Expect From the NEO

The A330-900neo is part of Virgin’s plan to replace its older, less fuel-efficient aircraft with more modern and environmentally friendlier ones.

In particular, the NEOs will be 11% more fuel efficient than the airline’s older A330 types that have been part of the airline’s core fleet for over 10 years.

From a passenger perspective, the aircraft is Virgin’s first to feature The Retreat Suite — a roomier, even more luxurious version of Upper Class that will feature exclusively in the middle 2 seats of row 1.