Photos of Virgin Australia's new long-haul Business Class cabin
In a bid to “transform” the customer experience, Virgin Australia has unveiled its new long-haul Business Class cabin on board its Boeing 777. The airline also revealed its new Economy and Premium Economy cabins.
New Business cabin The new business class cabin features 37 "suites"' that convert to a 80 inch (203cm) fully-flat beds - the length of a queen-sized bed. The cabin features a 1-2-1 layout, allowing direct aisle access for all business class passengers, an improvement on the previous layout of 2-3-2. Seats also include additional space to work and store personal items, new bedding, in-seat power sockets and a USB socket, along with an 18-inch HD touchscreen.
On-board Business bar The cabin also houses a spacious business class bar, which will be hosted by a crew member during the flight. “With competition increasing from Australia to North America and the Middle East, we believe this will be the best business class on the Pacific, with the product also being introduced to Abu Dhabi later this year,” said Virgin Australia’s group CEO, John Borghetti. “We are confident that, with our new Boeing 777 business class cabin and refreshed premium cabin, Virgin Australia will be the number one choice for premium travellers.” The first revamped 777-300ER will fly from Australia to Los Angeles.
New Business cabin Virgin has also revamped its premium economy and economy class cabins, including the addition of a new class, Economy Space +, which will launch on August 30. Located in a dedicated cabin of five rows behind the premium economy cabin, the new product offers extra legroom (34 inches/86 cm), a separate check-in counter, priority boarding, noise-cancelling headset and guaranteed first meal choice. Virgin Australia Chief Customer Officer, Mark Hassell said of the new product: “We believe Economy Space + will be very popular with a range of travellers. Economy Space + enables you to speed through the airport and enjoy service from dedicated crew members throughout the flight, providing great value for guests travelling to Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi.”
Premium The premium economy cabin, renamed "Premium", now features 24 seats with a seat pitch of 41 inches (104 cm), which puts it ahead of any other Australian airline in terms of legroom in this class, according to Virgin. All five of the airline's Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts are expected to be refitted with the new cabins by the third quarter of 2016.