Latest news with #AirbusA330neos
Daily Mirror
10-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Huge boost for Brits as major UK airline set to offer free Wi-Fi on all flights
The Starlink constellation of satellites will provide internet to the Virgin fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline's CEO Shai Weiss announced on Tuesday evening Virgin Atlantic has pledged to provide free, streaming-quality Wi-Fi to all passengers on all of its planes by the end of 2027. Elon Musk's Starlink constellation of satellites will provide internet to the Virgin fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss announced on Tuesday evening. According to Space Explored, Starlink for aviation is different from the typical ground-based product and uses a specially made antenna that can work at high speeds and remain reliable over long periods. A number of airlines have announced plans to use the service by the end of 2025, including United Airlines, SAS, and Air France. Virgin Atlantic is aiming to be the first UK airline to offer the service, which will be unlimited for every passenger who signs up to the airline's Flying Club loyalty scheme. The airline hopes to have it installed on its fleet of Airbus A330neos, A350s, and Boeing 787s by the end of 2027. Some frequent flyers are bound to welcome the move, given the current high cost and unreliable nature of in-flight Wi-Fi. Others may feel that being disconnected from the internet for a few hours now and again is something to be cherished. CEO Shai Weiss said: 'To fulfil 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.' The rollout of Starlink was not the only major announcement on Tuesday evening. Virgin Atlantic also plans to invest £17 billion in a mixed fleet of 45 next-generation, fuel-efficient aircraft, including 19 A330-900s, 12 A350-1000s, and 14 B787-9s, with an average fleet age of just under seven years by 2028. It will also increase the number of premium seats across its fleet due to high demand. Premium economy seats will increase from 35 to 56, while business class will increase from 31 to 44. Economy seats, meanwhile, will decrease from 192 to 127. '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,' Shai said. 'We are investing billions to fly the youngest fleet across the Atlantic; the first UK airline to have free, streaming-quality, fleet-wide Wi-Fi; 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.'
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Virgin Atlantic is swapping onboard bars for high-end suites as the luxury travel boom funds a major overhaul
Virgin Atlantic is launching a major cabin overhaul after reporting record financial results. It's shrinking economy class and removing onboard bars in favour of more premium suites. Airlines are in a luxury arms race as demand for premium long-haul travel booms post-pandemic. Virgin Atlantic has announced a host of upgrades with a view to winning over the wealthiest passengers amid a Transatlantic luxury travel arms race. "There is an insatiable demand for premium travel," CEO Shai Weiss told attendees at a launch event in London on Tuesday, saying that the overhaul had been made possible by booming demand pushing Virgin to a record financial year. He added that more than 90% of seats in its premium and upper-class cabins are filled, "so we know we have the ability to provide more of it." Since the pandemic, travellers have been more interested in flying premium, prompting several airlines to invest in upgrading their business- and first-class suites. Lufthansa, Air France, and British Airways have all recently announced larger and more luxurious first-class suites. Air France's La Première takes up the length of five windows while Lufthansa's Allegris has floor-to-ceiling walls and 43-inch TVs. United Airlines has also upgraded its Polaris class, including Studio suites that are more like first class. Virgin Atlantic isn't launching any completely new seats but expanding the size of its cabins and rolling out more Retreat Suites — its business-class-plus option. Transatlantic travel, in particular, has soared post-pandemic, providing a prime opportunity for the airline, given that it emphasizes such routes. This spells a transformation from its original focus on economy passengers when it was founded in 1984, shaking up UK aviation by challenging the dominance of British Airways. "I think not just Virgin Atlantic started with a heavy focus on economy, but travel has evolved so dramatically over the past 41 years — and especially over the last five — and I think we are here to show that we can do all these things expertly well," Weiss told reporters on the sidelines of the event. The UK flag carrier is undergoing a $17 billion fleet transformation, which is expected to be completed by 2028. 10 Airbus A330neos being delivered from the third quarter of next year will have 16 more upper-class seats and 10 more in premium class, while the economy cabin will shrink by about 30% to 128 seats. Plus, Virgin Atlantic is retrofitting its Boeing 787s, adding 13 more upper-class seats and 21 premium seats, while economy will be cut from 192 to 127 seats. Its 787 upper class has sometimes been derogatorily known as "coffin class" because the suites are narrow, and they lack privacy in a herringbone layout. But they'll soon be updated to modern designs like those on its A330neos. However, Virgin Atlantic will remove its famous bar to accommodate the extra seats. Instead, the airline says its spacious and swanky Retreat Suites can also function as social spaces, as an in-suite ottoman allows them to fit two people. The new A330neos will have six instead of two such suites, while the retrofitted 787s will have eight in total. "I love the bar, and we do love a social space, but the extension of the social space on the 787 will be the Retreat Suite," CEO Shai Weiss told reporters. Virgin Atlantic also announced a partnership with Elon Musk's Starlink, becoming the first British airline to offer streaming-quality WiFi for free. Business Insider previously tried out Starlink on a Qatar Airways flight last year, and found speeds of up to 215 Mbps — faster than most home internet connections. Installation is expected to be completed across the Virgin Atlantic fleet by the end of 2027. To use Starlink, you'll need to sign up for Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club loyalty program. The airline is working on key changes here, too, seeking to recognise passengers who don't fly frequently enough to move up the tiers but have been loyal to the airline for several years. Virgin is also partnering with OpenAI and to introduce an AI concierge to help with travel ideas and navigating airports. A demo at the event drew laughter from the crowd when the user mentioned that rival BA also flies to Mexico, and the concierge responded: "It's pronounced Virgin Atlantic, not BA," with a winky-face emoji. The airline's increased focus on premium will also see it invest millions in refurbishing its lounges at London Heathrow and New York JFK. "Everything we're gonna be telling you today will not be possible if our financial performance had not improved," Weiss said at the start of Tuesday's presentation. Last year saw Virgin Atlantic post record results, with revenues of £3.3 billion ($4.5 billion) and profits of £230 million ($313 million), which were up fourfold from 2023. The airline said this was fueled in part by continued demand from premium travelers, albeit more from those flying for leisure rather than work trips. "Although business travel has not yet recovered to the extent we thought it would have done by now, we have been happy with the strength of consumer demand for premium leisure travel," Virgin Group Chairperson Peter Norris said in the airline's annual report. Weiss told reporters that results for this year are likely to be similar, as uncertainty from tariffs and wars has damaged the hope of setting more records. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Express
07-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Express
Sabah begins to see more French tourists: Investments may be next
Published on: Monday, July 07, 2025 Published on: Mon, Jul 07, 2025 By: Leonard Alaza Text Size: Liezerovici (left) with France Ambassador to Malaysia, Axel Cruau. Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's unique potential to attract investments from France-based companies is receiving a fresh push amid Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's flagship official visit to France. French Chamber of Commerce in Malaysia (CCI France Malaysia), Regional Correspondent for Sabah Jacques Leizerovici, highlighted new openings for French investors in sectors ranging from tourism and renewable energy to oil & gas and aerospace. Advertisement He emphasized how Sabah's strategic development plans—including the Sabah Development Corridor and major infrastructure projects like the Pan-Borneo Highway—are drawing interest from a diverse group of French enterprises such as Club Med, Saint‑Gobain, Schneider Electric, and Seatech Engineering Maintenance. Prime Minister Anwar's two-day visit to Paris—invited by President Emmanuel Macron—has already yielded significant commercial outcomes. These include Malaysia Airlines having confirmed orders for 20 Airbus A330neos, and AirAsia for 50 more, reinforcing aviation ties. Subscribe or LOG IN to access this article. Support Independant Journalism Subscribe to Daily Express Malaysia Access to DE E-Paper Access to DE E-Paper Exclusive News Exclusive News Invites to special events Invites to special events Giveaways & Rewards 1-Year Most Popular (Income Tax Deductible) Explore Plans Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Aer Lingus CEO says there has been no drop in passenger demand on US routes
Aer Lingus CEO Lynne Embleton said on Friday that the airline is seeing no evidence of a softening in demand to visit the US this year, despite evidence elsewhere that tougher US immigration enforcement may be turning visitors off. She also queried Central Statistics Office figures here that have shown a fall in visitors to Ireland this year. "Passenger numbers were up in Q1 (the first three months of 2025,' she said. "From an Aer Lingus perspective we are responsible for more than half of long haul capacity during the winter and we carried more passengers.'. "What we see doesn't match (the CSO data) and our suspicion is something quirky in the data,' she said. In Ireland, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) published figures last week showed 441,200 foreign visitors came to Ireland in March, down 15pc on the same month last year and following reported declines in January and February. In the US , the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration reported 17pc fewer visitors from Western Europe in March this year than the same month a year prior. Aer Lingus said it is not seeing such declines on its routes, including to the US. Lynne Embleton was speaking after IAG, which owns Aer Lingus, reported earnings for the first quarter of the year that beat analyst estimates on Friday and confirmed new Boeing and Airbus orders. The airline group, which includes British Airways and Iberia, said it will buy 32 US made Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 French made Airbus SE A330neo planes for its Aer Lingus, Iberia or LEVEL brands. There's also an option to top up the deal with as many as 10 additional Boeing 787s and up to 13 additional Airbus A330neos, IAG said. ADVERTISEMENT The Boeing element of the deal had been flagged by the US as a win in the context of this week's UK:US trade agreement and as a UK deal will escape the threat by the European Union to levy a tariff on Boeing planes as part of a potential response to Donald Trump's US tariffs. There is no risk of tariffs on European built Airbus planes that are being bought for IAG's EU based airlines, including Aer Lingus. On Friday Aer Lingus reported an operating loss of €55m for the first quarter of 2025, compared to an €82m operating loss in the same three months of 2024. The first three months are typically the weakest quarter of the year for the airline, Aer Lingus's CEO, Lynne Embleton said the performance represents a strong financial outcome and a significant improvement on Q1 2024 and flagged new aircraft entering service with the fleet. "The Q1 performance builds upon the underlying momentum seen in the business from 2024. The first two of six A321 XLR aircraft are now in service and operating on our new routes to Nashville and Indianapolis. These new aircraft and the remaining four XLRs which are expected to join the fleet later this year will support a compelling growth ambition that will benefit the airline, our customers, our employees and the economy.' IAG's first-quarter adjusted operating profit rose to €198m , beating the estimates amid lower fuel prices and higher revenue. Despite some evidence of softening traveller interest in the US market this year the company maintained its outlook, saying it is "continuing to see good demand for air travel across our core markets and for our brands." Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Boeing was poised to win an order from IAG, in a deal tied to US President Donald Trump's new trade agreement with the UK. The Boeing portion of the accord marks a political win for Trump, whose tariff barrage has shaken global markets and tested the strong outlook for transatlantic routes that have bolstered major airlines such as BA.
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Aer Lingus owner announces major Boeing and Airbus jet deals
The airline group, which includes British Airways and Iberia, said it will buy 32 US made Boeing 787-10 aircraft for British Airways and 21 French made Airbus SE A330neo planes for its Aer Lingus, Iberia or LEVEL brands. There's also an option to top up the deal with as many as 10 additional Boeing 787s and up to 13 additional Airbus A330neos, IAG said. The Boeing element of the deal had been flagged by the US as a win in the context of this week's UK:US trade agreement. On Friday Aer Lingus reported an operating loss of €55m for the first quarter of 2025, compared to an €82m operating loss in the same three months of 2024. The first three months are typically the weakest quarter of the year for the airline, Aer Lingus's CEO, Lynne Embleton said the performance represents a strong financial outcome and a significant improvement on Q1 2024 and flagged new aircraft entering service with the fleet. "The Q1 performance builds upon the underlying momentum seen in the business from 2024. The first two of six A321 XLR aircraft are now in service and operating on our new routes to Nashville and Indianapolis. These new aircraft and the remaining four XLRs which are expected to join the fleet later this year will support a compelling growth ambition that will benefit the airline, our customers, our employees and the economy.' IAG's first-quarter adjusted operating profit rose to €198m , beating the estimates amid lower fuel prices and higher revenue. Despite some evidence of softening traveller interest in the US market this year the company maintained its outlook, saying it is "continuing to see good demand for air travel across our core markets and for our brands." Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Boeing was poised to win an order from IAG, in a deal tied to US President Donald Trump's new trade agreement with the UK. The Boeing portion of the accord marks a political win for Trump, whose tariff barrage has shaken global markets and tested the strong outlook for transatlantic routes that have bolstered major airlines such as BA.
