The case for Virgin Atlantic Ordering the 777X

A Boeing 777-9 landing at Boeing Field (Jamsheed Motafram).

As the new year is underway, the last thing on an airline's mind right now is to order new large aircraft due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But with the hope that more vaccines will be available as the year progresses, now would be a good time to talk about why it would be a good idea for Virgin Atlantic to order the 777X. Despite the airline filing for bankruptcy last August, they will be in a good position to survive once the COVID-19 pandemic subsides. Consequently there might be an opportunity for them to look into the 777X given the retirements of their 747-400s and A340s. So with that being said, here are my reasons as to why Virgin Atlantic should order the 777X.

Slot Restrictions at London Heathrow

The first Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 at London Heathrow (Shaquille Khan).

One of the big reasons as to why Virgin Atlantic should consider the 777X would be the competitive slots at London Heathrow. In my post months ago about the future of the A380 in Europe, I mentioned that British Airways are more likely to keep their A380s due in part to the situation at Heathrow. It would cost an airline £60 million pounds ($78,524,700.00 US) to acquire a new slot at Heathrow. It wouldn’t be too much of a problem had Virgin Atlantic kept their 747-400s and A340s but given their retirement, it would be a large hole for the airline to fill. Even though the A350-1000, which was acquired by Virgin to replace the aforementioned quadjets can fill that role, it needs another aircraft of its type to deal with this issue. If Virgin were to order the 777X, then they would be able to base their 777Xs and A350-1000s at London Heathrow and resurrect their operations at Gatwick utilizing the A330Co (A330-200/300), A330Neo, and Boeing 787 Dreamliners. But one can’t justify the need for large aircraft if there isn’t a good market for planes such as the 777X can’t thrive.

Beneficial for High Density Routes

A British Airways 747-400 at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Airways would utilize their 747s and A380s for high density routes out of Heathrow to maximize passenger capacity and Virgin can utilize a similar strategy if they order the 777X to go along with their A350-1000s (Jamsheed Motafram).

Now that the issue of London Heathrow is out of the way, the next question is what kind of routes would Virgin Atlantic utilize the 777X on? Ideally, it would make sense for them to fly on high density routes to ensure full capacity. For example, Virgin can utilize their 777X fleet along with their A350-1000s for routes such as Heathrow to Los Angeles or Heathrow to New York. Given that prior to the pandemic British Airways would utilize their larger 747-400s and A380s for those same routes to ensure they are at capacity, which would allow their other widebody twinjets to be flown elsewhere. For years, British Airways is able to maintain their status as the number 1 carrier in the UK because they are smart with how they utilize their aircraft on what routes they utilize them on. By acquiring the 777X, Virgin Atlantic would have the opportunity to challenge British Airways on those high density routes and potentially make the UK commercial market more competitive. Between owning both the 777X to go along with their A350-1000s, Virgin Atlantic will be able to seamlessly offset the retirements of their A340s and 747-400s. Ultimately both of these large widebody twinjets will provide another benefit for Richard Branson’s airline empire.

Enhancing the Virgin Brand

The inflight bar on the Virgin Atlantic A340-600. By adding a 777X to their fleet, Virgin Atlantic could bring back their bars in the 777X to go along with The Loft featured in their A350s (SANSpotter).

Of all the reasons why the 777X would be a good fit for Virgin Atlantic, no other reason is more important than enhancing the Virgin brand. Between the 777X and the A350-1000 it could signal the beginning of a new era for Virgin Atlantic utilizing large aircraft with more premium offerings all while reducing their carbon footprint. In the case of the A350-1000, they replaced their world infamous bar in the sky previously on their quadjets with a new social area called “The Loft.” With the 777X however, because it’s larger than the A350-1000, this would be a perfect opportunity for Virgin Atlantic to resurrect their bar to go along with The Loft to create a new experience for upper class passengers to get more people to fly on Virgin Atlantic. In addition, given how ordering a 777X would be a major risk for the airline to take, it would easily fit Richard Branson’s mantra of “Screw it let’s just do it” approach to finding new challenges, which is basically the rallying cry for Virgin Atlantic’s ambition to take over the world.

Conclusion

A Virgin Atlantic A350-1000 at London Heathrow (Vincenzo Pace).

While right now isn’t a good time to think about Virgin Atlantic ordering the 777X, within the next 12-18 months as we work our way out of the pandemic, I would definitely think that Virgin Atlantic would consider looking into the 777X for their future plans. Do you guys think it’s a good idea for Virgin Atlantic to look into the 777X? Let me know in the comment section below and keep looking to the sky!