Virgin unveils its new look Upper Class
Virgin Atlantic has upped the anti in its quest for more business, by announcing a £50million upgrade of its first-class cabins, and reaffirming plans to launch a low-cost carrier in the United States.
Dressed as pop star Eminem, Sir Richard Branson unveiled a “new generation” of cabins called Upper Class Suite, and took the opportunity to brandish a chainsaw at a British Airways First Class seat.
Features include a reclining leather seat for take off, a place to “sit and eat a proper meal opposite your partner” and what Virgin claims is the longest fully flat bed in the world with a proper mattress for sleeping on along with a seat that can be “flipped over” to form a bed.
Virgin said prices would be lower than BA’s first class product – but the comparison may be misleading. With the launch of the Upper Class Suite, the airline is probably trying to counter the success of BA’s Club World business class product which features lie-flat beds.
Sir Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Atlantic, commented: Our Upper Class Suite will move aviation forward by decades. At home you sit on a leather chair and sleep on a mattress yet every airline gives you a chair which doubles up as a bed. We will give you the most comfortable chair in the air which you can recline in for take off and landing and, for the first time, we will give you a separate luxury mattress which gives you the best and longest bed in the sky.
“We will also allow you to sit and eat at your seat with another passenger facing you or have a meal and a drink with friends at our exclusive private bar – the only bar in the sky. If you’re feeling stressed we’ll give you an inflight massage or manicure in a private treatment area or, if you prefer, at your seat.”
The refit will be completed by next autumn.
Sir Richard also confirmed that he is still aiming to launch a low cost airline in the United States, despite the fact that his plans have been delayed for at least six months. Despite announcing earlier this year that the new carrier would be launched within six months, he now says the airline will start operations by next June.
He said the new carrier would be built from nothing rather than out of an existing carrier, adding: “The best way of building and running an airline is to build it from scratch.”
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