Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350 registrations
The Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350 registrations record comprises 12 UK-registered Airbus A350-1000 aircraft operated by Virgin Atlantic Airways. The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) register extract dated 28 August 2026 records all 12 as Airbus A350-1041s with Virgin Atlantic as both registered owner and Air Operator Certificate holder. Virgin Atlantic assigns each aircraft a name and one of two cabin layouts, centred on either The Loft or The Booth social space.[1][2][3]
Scope and method
The register table uses the CAA's G-INFO records for registration, MSN, year of build, current registration date, registration status, operator and regulatory maximum-passenger field. The source returned an extract time of 28 August 2026 at 19:45. G-INFO is intended to be refreshed at the end of each working day.[1][4]
Virgin Atlantic's own A350 page provides current names and cabin groups for eleven registrations. Its 2024 press kit supplies the name and 397-seat cabin for G-VELJ, which the current web page omits despite the aircraft remaining registered and active in the current fleet database. The 12-aircraft total is therefore reconciled across regulator, operator and airframe sources instead of silently dropping the omitted registration.[2][5][3][6]
Registered is a legal register status, not proof that an aircraft was flying or serviceable at the exact extract time. The current fleet source records all 12 in Virgin Atlantic's fleet. Individual route, maintenance and parking status remain mutable and are not inferred from an old photograph or a gap in flight tracking.[3]
Current registrations
| Registration | MSN | Year built | Current UK registration date | Aircraft name | Virgin Atlantic cabin group | CAA maximum passengers |
| G-VBOB | 605 | 2023 | 23 May 2023 | Soul Rebel | The Booth — 397 seats | 335 |
| G-VDOT | 071 | 2016 | 04 Sep 2020 | Ruby Slipper | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VELJ | 655 | 2024 | 24 May 2024 | Bennie Jet | The Booth — 397 seats | 397 |
| G-VEVE | 492 | 2021 | 01 Dec 2021 | Fearless Lady | The Booth — 397 seats | 397 |
| G-VJAM | 336 | 2019 | 27 Sep 2019 | Queen of Hearts | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VLIB | 507 | 2021 | 21 Apr 2022 | Lady Emmeline | The Booth — 397 seats | 335 |
| G-VLUX | 274 | 2019 | 09 Aug 2019 | Red Velvet | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VNVR | 647 | 2024 | 14 Mar 2024 | Wendy Darling | The Booth — 397 seats | 397 |
| G-VPOP | 298 | 2019 | 28 Aug 2019 | Mamma Mia | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VPRD | 319 | 2019 | 23 Sep 2019 | Rain Bow | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VRNB | 415 | 2020 | 17 Sep 2020 | Purple Rain | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
| G-VTEA | 426 | 2020 | 30 Nov 2020 | Rosie Lee | The Loft — 335 seats | 335 |
All 12 CAA records have Registered status, identify Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd as the AOC holder, use ICAO type designator A35K and list two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines.[1]
Aircraft names and registrations
Virgin Atlantic deliberately incorporates words and names into many registrations. Its own explanation says that the first letter following the UK G- nationality prefix is V across the airline's fleet. The remaining letters frequently echo the aircraft name: VLUX accompanies Red Velvet, VPOP accompanies Mamma Mia, and VPRD accompanies Rain Bow. The name is an operator identity, while the registration and MSN remain the legal and manufacturer identifiers.[7][2]
| Cabin group | Registrations | Aircraft names |
| The Loft | G-VDOT, G-VJAM, G-VLUX, G-VRNB, G-VTEA, G-VPOP, G-VPRD | Ruby Slipper; Queen of Hearts; Red Velvet; Purple Rain; Rosie Lee; Mamma Mia; Rain Bow |
| The Booth | G-VBOB, G-VEVE, G-VLIB, G-VNVR, G-VELJ | Soul Rebel; Fearless Lady; Lady Emmeline; Wendy Darling; Bennie Jet |
Names can be repainted or reassigned, so they should be checked against a current operator source before an individual-aircraft article is revised. The table preserves Virgin Atlantic's displayed capitalisation and spelling, including Rain Bow and Bennie Jet.[2][5]
Cabin configurations
Virgin Atlantic publishes two A350-1000 layouts rather than a single fleet-wide seat count.[2]
| Cabin | The Loft | The Booth |
| Upper Class | 44 | 16 |
| Premium | 56 | 56 |
| Economy Delight | 36 | 33 |
| Economy Classic and Light | 199 | 292 |
| Total | 335 | 397 |
| Social space | The Loft | The Booth |
The Loft is a larger shared Upper Class social area. The Booth is a two-person social space used on the higher-density, leisure-oriented aircraft. These labels describe the installed cabin and are more useful than assuming configuration from MSN or age.
The CAA maximum-passenger field generally follows the published cabin total, but G-VLIB is a notable exception: the current operator page assigns it to the 397-seat Booth group while G-INFO displays 335 maximum passengers. This page does not “correct” either source by inference. The regulator's field and the operator's installed cabin statement answer different questions and may also be updated on different schedules.[8][2]
G-VELJ is another source-reconciliation case. Virgin Atlantic's current web page omits it from both lists, but the airline's 2024 press kit identifies it as Bennie Jet with a 397-seat configuration; the CAA records 397 maximum passengers, and the current airframe source records it active with Virgin Atlantic.[5][6][1]
Fleet development
Virgin Atlantic selected 12 A350-1000s in 2016: eight purchased aircraft and four long-term leases. Airbus described the type as serving both the airline's principal transatlantic operation and higher-capacity leisure markets. The fleet subsequently grew to the 12 registrations in the current table.[9]
G-VLUX, Red Velvet, was the first Virgin Atlantic A350-1000. Virgin Atlantic announced that it would introduce the new Upper Class suite and The Loft and place the aircraft initially on London Heathrow–New York services. The airline records the first A350 delivery in September 2019, while G-INFO gives 9 August as the date the UK registration took effect; registration and delivery are therefore kept separate.[10][5][1]
G-VDOT is unusual within the fleet. Its MSN 071 and CAA build year of 2016 are much earlier than its September 2020 UK registration. The airframe had previously served in the A350-1000 development programme before conversion for airline use. That history explains the low MSN and should not be misread as a missing early Virgin delivery.[1][11]
The two most recent registration records are G-VNVR and G-VELJ, both with CAA build year 2024. The current table records their regulator dates and does not infer first-flight or delivery dates from those entries.
Engine and technical identity
All aircraft are certified A350-1041s powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines. The -1041 model number, A35K ICAO designator, registration and MSN are separate identifiers. The engine family does not reveal the serial number of an engine fitted on a particular date; engines may be changed during maintenance.[12][1]
Virgin Atlantic's A350-1000s are distinct from the shorter A350-900. Fleet totals, cabin layouts and registrations should not be merged across the two variants merely because both belong to the A350 family.
Data-quality notes
The table contains 12 unique registrations and 12 unique MSNs, matching the current CAA, airline-fleet and airframe totals.
Registration date, build year, first flight and delivery are distinct events.
Registeredis the CAA legal status, not a point-in-time operational status.Aircraft names and cabin groups come from Virgin Atlantic; G-VELJ uses the airline's 2024 press kit because the current A350 page omits it.
The CAA maximum-passenger field is not substituted for the operator's installed cabin when the two differ.
Route assignment and base are not permanent airframe attributes and are not inferred here.
Related pages
Sources
G-INFO aircraft register search — UK Civil Aviation Authority, extract dated 28 August 2026
Our Airbus A350-1000s — Virgin Atlantic, accessed 29 August 2026
Virgin Atlantic press kit 2024 — Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic fleet details and history — Planespotters.net, accessed 29 August 2026
G-VELJ airframe record — Planespotters.net, accessed 29 August 2026
Virgin Atlantic raises the bar for its first A350-1000 — Virgin Atlantic
How Virgin Atlantic names its aircraft — Virgin Atlantic
Image source and licence: G-VPRD approaching Boston — 4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
