Virgin Atlantic will grow its Airbus A350-1000 fleet with two new leases from Air Lease Corporation (ALC). The carrier will take delivery of the two aircraft in 2023 and 2024, adding to its existing order with Airbus. As borders reopen, Virgin is hoping to bounce back in the coming months to full pre-pandemic capacity.
Raising the numbers
As the travel recovery continues, Virgin Atlantic is looking to grow its fleet. The airline has signed agreements for long-term leases on two A350-1000s with ALC. This increases the total A350s set to arrive at Virgin from 12 to 14. Currently, the airline operates eight A350-1000s.
In a statement, ALC Executive Chairman Steven F. Udvar-Házy said,
“We are pleased to announce this placement of two new Airbus A350-1000s with Virgin Atlantic. ALC’s long history with the airline has been focused on fleet transformation and modernization, and these two new aircraft will add to Virgin Atlantic’s growing A350 operations and commitment to sustainable travel.”
The two new deliveries will come from ALC’s Airbus order book and won’t affect Virgin’s order for 12 A350-1000s. Despite the pandemic, the British carrier has continued taking A350 deliveries, with three in 2020 and one more in 2021. The latest A350-1000, G-VEVE, arrived earlier this month.
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Good timing
Virgin’s lease deal comes at an opportune time for the airline. While long-haul traffic has ticked up since the fall, market rates for widebodies remain depressed. This likely means the airline has been able to negotiate a lower rental for both A350s than before the pandemic.
With the two planes set to arrive in 2023 and 2024, Virgin hopes to reach full pre-pandemic passenger traffic by this time. This is in line with estimates from industry bodies, which expect long-haul business travel to be the last sector to fully bounce back from the sharp blows last year.
The A350s will help Virgin make up for lost capacity from the Boeing 747s, Airbus A330s, and A340s. While these aircraft will eventually be replaced by a mix of the 787 and A330neo as well, for now, Virgin wants to remain prepared for any delays in deliveries in the future. Once the recovery begins, the airline wants to stay on top of it.
Focus on leisure
For now, Virgin has pivoted to focusing mainly on long-haul leisure and VFR routes rather than the usual trunk routes from London to the US. This has seen the airline launch flights from Edinburgh to Barbados and a host of other Caribbean cities, while ramping up flights to countries like Pakistan ahead of major holiday seasons. However, with transatlantic travel on the mend too, Virgin is hoping for a smooth comeback in 2022.
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