Yesterday was a day of celebration for Virgin Atlantic. The British carrier’s very first Airbus A330-900 took off on its first test flight out of Airbus’ base in Toulouse, France.
An exciting Saturday for Virgin
On 12 August, Virgin Atlantic saw its first A330neo take to the skies for its first inaugural flight. The aircraft, under test registration F-WWCG, took off at 10:52 local time towards and over the Bay of Biscay for one of several test flights.
During its flight, which lasted nearly 4 hours, the aircraft flew north over the French region of Brittany.
The British carrier first ordered the A330neo in 2019 is clearly eagerly awaiting the delivery of the aircraft by planning the jet’s initial routes and opening up ticket sales to the public already!
Once Virgin Atlantic receives the jet, it will get the UK registration number G-VEWR. But that could be a short while yet as, judging by recent A330neo deliveries from Airbus, Virgin’s A330neo has a least three to six more test flights to get through before entering service for the carrier.
Where to first?
According to Virgin Atlantic, the aircraft is expected to fly to Boston from London Heathrow on its first customer flight in early October. Tickets went on sale recently for 12 October. Boston is just one of five routes to see the new Airbus aircraft this winter from Heathrow. Alongside Boston, Virgin Atlantic will be operating flights to Tampa, Miami, New York JFK, and – with just two one-off flights – Atlanta with the A330neo.
From September this year, Virgin Atlantic is expected to receive three aircraft over a period between 2023 and 2026.
What do you make of Virgin Atlantic’s impending arrival? Do you fly with them often? Comment below.
