Virgin Australia’s new 777 premium seats enter service

Virgin Australia has launched its revamped business and premium economy seats on its Boeing 777-300ERs, starting with services on the Sydney-Los Angeles route.

The new business class layout features 37 B/E Aerospace Super Diamond lie-flat suites in a 1-2-1 configuration, with an 18in screen for in-flight entertainment. This brings it in line with the business class seats on its Airbus A330-200 fleet.

In addition, its premium economy cabin now features 24 seats with a 41in pitch and a 10.6in IFE screen.

One aircraft has been fitted with the new seats, and as remaining four 777s are refitted, the offering will be rolled out on the Brisbane-Los Angeles and Sydney-Abu Dhabi routes.

“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,” says Virgin chief executive John Borghetti.

Virgin had planned to launch the revamped seats in November 2015, but certification issues forced a delay to the retrofit programme.

At the same time, Virgin also launched ‘Economy Space +’, which features additional legroom in the first five rows of the 777’s economy section and on the exit rows.

In addition to the added space, customers choosing the option are also offered dedicated check-in counters, preferred overhead locker space, guaranteed first meal choice and noise-cancelling headphones.

The option will be available to passengers as a paid-for add-on during the seat allocation process, rather than a separate booking class.