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Virgin Atlantic currently have three different types of inflight entertainment systems across their fleet. The stated goal - for some years - is eventually move all aircraft to the V:Port system; however progress on this has been slow and we may potentially see a replacement for V:Port before all aircraft have it fitted. One reason for the delay is cost - reportedly $2M per aircraft. A string of events, such as 9/11, SARS & $70-a-barrel oil prices have caused all airlines to look carefully at their capital expenditure, and in the specific case of Virgin Atlantic their priorities seem to have shifted - initially from the Upper Class Suite, and more recently to the Premium Economy relaunch and Clubhouse programme.
It's difficult to tell whether Virgin are as committed to the V:Port rollout as they once were. Until then, you are likely to see various types of entertainment system on your flight.
Odyssey
Aircraft delivered between 1997 and 2002 were fitted with state-of-the-art
Matsushita Avionic Systems IFE. The Odyssey system offers 20 channels of
entertainment plus much more as follows:
- 10 movie channels
- 2 kids channels (featuring a combination of movies and tv programming)
- 8 TV channels featuring music, sport & news, comedy and kids programming plus the exclusive Virgin Travel guide
- 14 audio channels ranging from soul to Classical music
- A choice of 35 Nintendo Games
- Moving Skymap display which plots the aircraft's flight path
- In-seat telephones (located on the reverse of the handset)
The Odyssey system is on a selection of 747-400 and A340 aircraft.
| Registration |
Aircraft |
Name |
| G-VAIR |
A340-313 |
Maiden Tokyo |
| G-VAST |
747-41R |
Ladybird |
| G-VXLG |
747-41R |
Ruby Tuesday |
| G-VTOP |
747-4Q8 |
Virginia Plain |
| G-VELD |
A340-300 |
African Queen |
| G-VFAR |
A340-311 |
Diana |
| G-VHOL |
A340-311 |
Jetstreamer |
| G-VSEA |
A340-311 |
Plain Sailing |
Super Nova
During the summer of 2001 Virgin took delivery of five 747-400 aircraft (the
cancelled Alitalia order), these were fitted with an Inflight Entertainment
system new to Virgin Atlantic supplied by Thales. The new product, called 'Nova'
has 8 channels of seat back entertainment consisting of:
- Movie channels
- 2 kids channels (featuring a combination of movies and tv programming)
- 1 TV channel which works on a cycle basis showing a selection of current TV programming
- 14 audio channels ranging from soul to Classical music
- Moving Skymap display which plots the aircraft's flight path
- Bulkhead Telephone
The Nova system is on a selection of LGW/MAN 747-400. As these aircraft had Suite fit-outs, they got "Super Nova" (an enhanced version of Nova, but it still ain't V:Port).
| Registration |
Aircraft |
Name |
| G-VGAL |
747-443 |
Jersey Girl |
| G-VLIP |
747-443 |
Hot Lips |
| G-VROM |
747-443 |
Barbarella |
| G-VROS |
747-443 |
English Rose |
| G-VROY |
747-443 |
Pretty Woman |
V:Port
This system is onboard 747-400s and A340-600s. It offers Video on Demand where passengers can watch or listen to what
they want and can start, pause or rewind their chosen movie, TV show or
CD. What it features:
- 10.4 inch screen in Upper Class
- 9 inch screen in Premium Economy / Economy
- 300 hours of Video on Demand content
- 14 channels of Audio on Demand and a jukebox with over 45 CDs ranging from
Chopin to Elvis Presley to PJ Harvey. Passengers can listen to an entire CD or
just an individual track.
- A selection of audio books
- 15 computer games, of which 3 are multi-player and one, Battlemail Kung-fu, has
been developed exclusively for Virgin
- A Quick Find facility that allows passengers to look for films starring their
favourite movie star, comedy shows or language programming
- A dedicated Kid’s Zone that has it’s own menus and contains programming suitable
for children and a parental block
- The system will allows passengers to send emails and SMS messages.
- IMap is a brand new fully interactive map application - not only can passengers
track their flight, but they can also roam around the world, zoom in on
different destinations and points of interest.
Email and Intranet was promised as "coming soon" in 2003, but has yet to materialise.
The V:Port system is on all A340-600 series and certain 747-400 aircraft.
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