Virgin Atlantic has unveiled plans for a major customer service upgrade, including a complete refit of its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet and the introduction of free wi-fi for all passengers.
The refit will expand Upper Class and Premium cabins on the Dreamliners to 44 Upper Class seats (up from 31) and 56 Premium seats (up from 35). The economy cabin will reduce from 192 to 127 seats.
For the first time, the popular Retreat Suite (Image) —originally introduced on Virgin’s Airbus A330s in 2020—will be available on the 787-9, with eight Retreat Suites in every Upper Class cabin.
Refitting of the Dreamliners is scheduled to begin in 2028 and to be completed by 2030.
In addition, from the third quarter of 2026, Virgin will begin installing free, unlimited, streaming-quality wi-fi across its entire fleet, thanks to its new partnership with Starlink. The rollout is expected to finish by the end of 2027.
Separately, Virgin will start taking delivery of 10 new Airbus A330neo aircraft from the third quarter of 2026. These will feature 48 Upper Class seats (up from 32), 56 Premium seats (up from 46), and 128 Economy seats (down from 184).
Passengers will be able to access the free wi-fi by signing up to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty programme.