VIRGIN ATLANTIC’S UPPER CLASS IS A RUNWAY SUCCESS

Virgin Atlantic has won a Gold Award for its Upper Class interior and seat in the prestigious 2001 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA). The awards cover eleven categories from business equipment to furniture and transport. The winning designs were chosen from over 1000 entries in the annual competition sponsored by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and Business Week.

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, said;

“We are delighted that we have won this prestigious award from the IDSA. It is an honour to be rubbing shoulders with companies such as Microsoft and Nike that are leaders in the field of industrial design and we are especially proud to be the only airline to get a Gold Award.

“Our new Upper Class products and services have proved very popular with our passengers – in fact our research has shown that passengers who have flown both British Airways Club World and Virgin Atlantic Upper Class overwhelmingly prefer the Upper Class experience. Winning this award is a tribute to our design team who have always put Virgin Atlantic at the cutting edge of aircraft design – and I’m sure they will continue to do so.”

Chris Bangle, ISDA said of the Virgin Atlantic cabin and seat;

“A feeling of lightness and hyper quality sets this interior design apart from the mainstream. A unique stylish upgrade solves a number of objective problems and reintroduces the romance of flying to their Business Class. Innovative lighting and materials, as well as unique product offerings (a bar and massage area), combine to promote travel as an experience of desire as opposed to feat of endurance.”

Virgin Atlantic relaunched its Upper Class in 1999 with the introduction of the new livery and Upper Class cabin, and from 2000, the revolutionary sleeper seat. The Upper Class cabin was redesigned around the ‘Modern Romance of Flight’. The seat and cabin interior uses metallic silver and chrome with red leather, complemented with and warm purple textured fabric reflecting the romantic era of flying in the 1930s. Every single detail onboard was reviewed no matter how small and, with over one hundred new products made their debut, from teapots to duvets. Even the swizzle sticks, shaped like propellers, reflect airline images throughout the cabin.

The centre of the redesign is the revolutionary seat which moves through an infinite number of positions from a seat into a relaxing chaise-longe and finally provides passengers with 6ft 8in of sleeping space to stretch out in. The Upper Class cabin also includes an onboard bar with seven seats, a dedicated Inflight Beauty Therapy area and unique treatments and the ‘Freedom’ food service offering passengers a restaurant-style meal service. This year Virgin Atlantic also won the prestigious OAG Airline of the Year 2001 award.

Joe Ferry, Virgin Atlantic’s Industrial Design Manager, said;

“The Upper Class relaunch took three years to develop. During this process we examined every element of the flying experience to revolutionise the way people fly and introduce original design features. Our aim was to achieve the level of detail and quality associated with automotive interiors combined with the elegance of contemporary furniture.”