Virgin Atlantic Begins Flying A330 With New Upper Class 'Suites'
Virgin Atlantic operates some of the world's best business-class lounges, with a-la-carte dining, complimentary spa treatments and more, but Virgin's Upper Class seat has been in need of an update, especially on some of the carrier's oldest planes.
Earlier this year, the airline added four Airbus A330-200s to its fleet, with "new" seats in business class. Problem is, while they were new to Virgin Atlantic — and had fun "new" names like "Love Suite" and "Freedom Solo Suite" — they had actually been flying with defunct Air Berlin for years.
Fortunately, these particular A330s are currently undergoing a sub-fleet retrofit project, and the first refreshed plane, G-VMNK, recently returned to service with the new seats. G-VWND will likely be the next retrofitted A330-200 to re-enter service, perhaps by the end of 2018, with G-VLNM and G-VMIK following a few weeks behind.
After the update, each A330-200 will offer 19 brand new staggered 1-2-1 seats in business class, a dedicated 35-seat premium-economy cabin and 212 coach seats arranged in a 2-4-2 configuration.
The rest of the interior is being redesigned as well, from the mood lighting to the lavatories — most passengers won't have any idea they're boarding an almost 20-year-old plane.
Currently, these A330-200s are being used to operate flights from London Gatwick (LGW) to the Caribbean, including Antigua (ANU), Barbados (BGI), Grenada (GND), St. Lucia (UVF) and Tobago (TAB). They're also expected to operate service between Manchester (MAN) and Los Angeles (LAX), once that route launches in May 2019.
If you're hoping to land this new configuration, keep an eye out for the aircraft's subtype — while Virgin's A330-300s have a mix of two entirely different seating arrangements, all four A330-200s will have these new forward-facing staggered seats by Jan. 2019.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
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Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month