Cabin Pressure

With transcontinental flights maxing out at under 2,000nm, trans‑Tasman routes from the east coast under 1,500nm and even Sydney‑Denpasar less than 2,500nm, the MAX 10 will have no performance worries, and Virgin may not even need to take the weight penalty of an auxiliary tank.

That’s especially true if it opts for a premium-heavy configuration. Fewer bums on fewer seats means fewer kilos to launch skywards, even though flatbed seats in business class are heavier than the ultralight seating products down the back.

‘Sensible airlines are trying to minimise the risk that comes with new seating products.’

The other question remaining to be answered about the MAX 10’s capabilities are around runway length. Depending on what you count as the “base” 737 – the -100? -200? -800? MAX 8? – the MAX 10 has been stretched at least twice, and the constraints of the relatively low-to-theground engines mean it is relatively underpowered.

This leads to a requirement for longer runways: not a problem at the likes of the larger international airports, but runway length would be a constraint at some of the smaller locations within the network.

The presumption is that the MAX 10 will be a capacity boost for routes fitting between the -800 or MAX 8 and the A330-200. But it might also be an experience boost…for some passengers, anyway.

Down back, there’s no plan from Boeing to do any sidewall sculpting or similar work to increase width of the narrow six-abreast economy seats, which date back in terms of fuselage width to the 707’s design using 1950s-width people.

Similarly, it would be surprising if Virgin changed its seat pitch measurements, which sit at 31in on its 737 fleet — and, indeed, the A330s that also operate on higher-demand transcontinental routes. Up front, if Virgin goes premium on some or all of the MAX 10s it has a number of options. If it wants to keep challenging Qantas on product across the country it needs to have a fully flat bed at an absolute minimum, and probably direct aisle access for every passenger.

If it doesn’t go for all-aisle access, it has several options that require minimal risk on Virgin’s part in terms of certification. Sensible airlines are trying to minimise the risk that comes with new seating products, and Virgin was burned when creating its current A330 business class product, which was delayed owing to certificationrelated testing.

The first seat it could use is the Diamond flatbed that B/E Aerospace (now Rockwell Collins) developed for Continental (now United) that the US carrier uses on its 787s across the Pacific, which offers a 2-2 layout in each row of a 737, with seats pointing slightly away from the aisle.

The second is the Thompson Vantage staggered product used on flydubai, Malaysia Airlines and others, which is configured in an alternating 2-1 layout on a 737 or, in Aer Lingus’ case, a 757. US carrier jetBlue uses this product for its premium Mint product aboard the slightly wider Airbus A321 fuselage, and offers doored suites in the “throne” rows.

Direct aisle access, meanwhile, doesn’t come cheaply on a 737 fuselage. There are in essence two ways to achieve it: a herringbone angle or a stagger. To my knowledge, there’s not a single herringbone seat on a 737-width fuselage, with American Airlines’ Zodiac Cirrus implementation on the wider A321 fuselage the only narrowbody herringbone that comes to mind.

While Thompson has been mooting its Vantage Solo inward-facing herringbone for years – it’s been quite some years since they showed me around a mockup at the back of its booth at the Aircraft Interiors Expo — it has yet to break real-world cover and indeed needs to be certified for the first time.

In the middle comes premium economy, and this is a big question. The airline offers the product on its Boeing 777-300ER fleet, but not on the A330 or anything smaller. There are many hurdles to clear around how to market and price this kind of product, but it’d be a game-changer to see Virgin try.