V IRGIN A 350
“Major design
changes were
immediately
evident”
ROOM
WITH A VIEW
aircraftinteriorsinternational.com
NOVEMBER 2019 037
A US$4.4 billion order for 12 A350-1000s calls
for a celebration, and for something a little
special in the cabin design, and Virgin Atlantic
has certainly been working hard on both, with a
comprehensive rethinking of the Upper Class cabins
for this aircraft. Indeed when boarding Red Velvet,
the airline’s first A350, major design changes were
immediately apparent.
One of the airline’s brand signatures is to have a social
area at Door 2, which gives all passengers an initial feeling
of Virgin Atlantic’s fun, glamorous inflight experience as
they board. The A350 is a departure from the airline’s
35-year tradition of having an onboard bar, instead
featuring the Loft, a relaxed social space for gathering
and chatting over a drink or a snack, which answers
some feedback regarding noisy bar areas.
The Loft is by far the largest on board social space in
the Virgin Atlantic fleet, with a pair of sofas providing
space for eight customers (certified for five seated plus
three standing) – twice the capacity of its onboard bars.
The airline worked with Factorydesign
and AIM Altitude to create the space,
which was maximised by manipulating
the space at either side of the doorway,
integrating the available cross-aisle space
into the overall Loft layout. The design was
verified by evaluating a series of mockups
in terms of comfort and ergonomics, with
the seating and spatial relationships finetuned
in line with positional, spatial and
certification requirements.
The Loft comprises a centre section of
monuments with an independent ceiling,
which is attached to the monuments
themselves, rather than the aircraft
structure. The monuments include custom
full-height vertical doors and latches, a
preparation area for crew, a wardrobe,
a stowage unit, and of course the seating.
The sofas offer a range of orientations, enabling
customers to sit facing each other in the booth seats or
facing the neighbouring banquette, while solo travellers
may like the single-seat end bay sofa, which faces into the
doorway, giving a feeling of inclusion without a sense of
crashing a party. In the event of turbulence, standing
guests will have to return to their suites, but seatbelts
enable seated guests to ride it out in the Loft.
The lavs in Upper Class have something a little
special: windows. “We made this decision with
Airbus,” says Kerzner. “Other carriers have
A350s with business class lavs in the centre
of the cabin and at the Door 2 galley. We’ve
chosen to put the lavs at the front of the
Upper Class cabin on the outboard sides, with
windows. That’s a good example of us working
with the manufacturers to give our customers
a better experience.”
TOP LEFT: THE GOLD-PLATED
LIGHTING FIXTURE IN THE LOFT
ABOVE: THIS SINGLE END BAY
SEAT IN THE LOFT GIVES AN
OPTION FOR SOLO FLYERS
BELOW: THE CIRRUS NG SEAT
FEELS A LOT MORE PRIVATE
THAN THE PREVIOUS SUITES,
WITH A SLIDING HALF DOOR
GIVING THE OPTION OF MORE
PRIVACY
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com