The interior of Virgin Australia Group’s highly anticipated Embraer 190–E2 narrowbody jets has been unveiled, featuring a dual Business and Economy Class layout in a first for Western Australia’s charter market.
It comes as Embraer commences assembly of the first aircraft ‘Coral Bay’ this month, with four of the eight new aircraft set to be delivered to the Group’s regional business, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA), within 12 months.
VARA Executive General Manager, Nathan Miller said excitement was building ahead of the first aircraft’s entry into service in October this year.
“We have opted for a dual-class layout, which actually gives us three product options when you include our extra legroom option, Economy X,” he said.
“It means we have the flexibility to use the aircraft for regular commercial operations on the days of the week when there is less charter demand and leisure traffic is higher.
“We have had very positive feedback since we announced the acquisition of these aircraft, especially as these will be the first brand-new aircraft in the WA charter market this century. Our customers are excited about the two-plus-two layout in our economy cabin, which means there are no middle seats. There is enough room in the cabin for every guest to have a bag in the overhead bin. The seats are more spacious than the outgoing Fokker 100s, which gives our guests an improved flying experience.”
All aircraft will be fitted with Virgin Australia’s high bandwidth Wi-Fi connectivity and in-flight entertainment (via a guest’s own personal device)[1], as well as in-seat power.
Mr Miller said the E2 had impressive sustainability credentials, as well as the lowest noise profile of any aircraft in its segment.
“The lower noise profile is great news for communities surrounding the airport considering many of our departures are early in the morning,” he said.
