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Virgin Atlantic 747 Seat Maps

Virgin Atlantic's 747-400 cabins changed across three archived layouts, from a 394-seat original with 44 Upper Class suites to a 455-seat final refit with the upper deck split between Premium Economy and economy.

By , Boeing 747 EnthusiastReviewed

Virgin Atlantic began in 1984 with a single leased 747-200 and grew into one of the most recognisably branded 747 operators in the world, flying the type for 36 years. Its 747-400s were rarely identical, and the cabin was central to the brand: Upper Class, a herringbone of suites in the nose, and the upper deck, which Virgin used for a mix of Upper Class, premium economy and economy over the years.

The original 394-seat cabin

Virgin’s first 747-400s, delivered from 1994, carried 394 seats: 44 Upper Class suites split between the nose and the upper deck, 32 Premium Economy seats in a 2-4-2 layout and 318 economy seats at 3-4-3. Seat pitch was generous even in economy, part of the airline’s pitch as an entertainer rather than a high-density carrier.

The 424-seat version

A higher-density version appeared around 2000 with 424 seats — the Upper Class cabin cut to 14 suites in the nose, Premium Economy doubled from 32 to 58 seats and economy raised to 352. The premium cabins were rebalanced rather than shrunk: Virgin was one of the airlines that created the premium-economy market, and its 747s sat more of those seats than almost any competitor.

The final 455-seat refit

The last Virgin 747-400s, refitted from 2011, carried 455 seats, the highest of any version. Upper Class stayed in the nose in a 1-1 layout (rows 6–12), but the upper deck became two cabins — Premium Economy in rows 20–24 and economy in rows 75–80 — while the main-deck economy cabin ran 3-4-3. Twelve -400s served the airline from 1994 to 2020, the last arriving at Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow before the type was retired in March 2020.

Cabin archive

Visual seat maps

Cabin zones run from the nose on the left to the tail on the right. Seat symbols show the typical abreast pattern, not every individual row.

Historical reconstruction1994–2006

Virgin Atlantic 747-400 original layout

Virgin's first 747-400 cabin: 44 Upper Class suites split between the nose and the upper deck, 32 Premium Economy seats and 318 in economy.

394passenger seats
Upper deckPart of the Upper Class cabin
Upper Class2-2 typicalUpper-deck suites forming part of the 44-seat cabin
Main deckNose at left
Upper Class1-1 typicalHerringbone suites in the nose
Premium Economy32 seats · 2-4-2 typical
Economy318 seats · 3-4-3 typical

Map note: SeatGuru's archived map lists 44 Upper Class suites, 32 Premium Economy and 318 economy. Upper Class used the nose in a 1-1 herringbone style with a partial upper-deck cabin; Premium Economy was 2-4-2 and economy 3-4-3.

Configuration source: SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine (2006)

Historical reconstructionc.2000–2006

Virgin Atlantic 747-400 424-seat layout

A higher-density Virgin 747-400: 14 Upper Class seats in the nose, 58 Premium Economy and 352 economy seats, with a split upper deck.

424passenger seats
Upper deckUpper-deck cabin
Upper deck cabinDeck split not broken out in the archived map
Main deckNose at left
Upper Class1-1 typical14 suites in the nose
Premium Economy58 seats · 2-4-2 typical
Economy352 seats · 3-4-3 typical

Map note: This version carried far more Premium Economy than the original — 58 seats against 32 — as Virgin leaned into the premium-economy market it helped create. The archived map does not break out the upper deck for this version.

Configuration source: SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine (2006)

Archived configuration2011–2020

Virgin Atlantic 747-400 final refit

The final Virgin 747-400 cabin: 14 Upper Class suites in the nose, 66 Premium Economy and 375 economy seats, with the upper deck split between the two.

455passenger seats
Upper deckPremium Economy and economy
Premium Economy2-2 typicalRows 20–24
Economy3-3 typicalRows 75–80
Main deckNose at left
Upper Class1-1 typicalNose suites, rows 6–12
Premium Economy2-4-2 typical
Economy3-4-3 typicalRows 25–80

Map note: In the last years the upper deck was given over to Premium Economy (rows 20–24, 2-2) and economy (rows 75–80, 3-3), while Upper Class stayed in the nose (rows 6–12). Twelve -400s served Virgin from 1994 to 2020, the last flying from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow.

Configuration source: SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine (2013)

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the primary and institutional references below.

  1. Virgin Atlantic 747-400 (version 1) seat map — SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine
  2. Virgin Atlantic 747-400 (version 2) seat map — SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine
  3. Virgin Atlantic 747-400 LGW-1 seat map — SeatGuru, archived by the Wayback Machine
  4. Virgin Atlantic fleet and cabin history — AirReview

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