Virgin Atlantic Cargo says its new $4.4 billion order for 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft will boost its cargo capacity and in turn provide added benefits to customers.

The airline says the investment demonstrates the strength of its commitment to customer experience as it continues to focus on delivering sustained profit in the long term. It is part of a fleet modernisation programme, which will see 50 per cent of Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft replaced in a six year period.

Virgin says it will also deliver a significant improvement in lower deck cargo capacity of between 10 per cent and 22 per cent depending on configuration.

Virgin senior vice president for cargo, John Lloyd says: “We are confident the A350 will be the best cargo aircraft we’ve ever had in our fleet when we start to take delivery in early 2019. It is another demonstration of the airline’s focus on investing in the future for our customers.”

The A350-1000 will replace Virgin Atlantic’s remaining Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A340-600s and operate on both business and leisure routes worldwide. Initially the aircraft will fly to key US destinations from Heathrow Airport.