Virgin Atlantic Airways makes use of a mix of in-house design capability and a number of agencies to deliver design projects
The company’s central design function has a strong, hands-on approach to design, carrying out much initial concept development itself and using external inputs selectively to achieve the desired end result.
Key elements of Virgin Atlantic’s process are:
- The preparation of a detailed business case before every design project
- The use of physical mock-ups to gain buy-in from internal and external stakeholders
- A formal design freeze and an end to external design input before the start of manufacturing engineering
- A holistic approach to design which embraces service design, bringing distinct advantages but also a host of new challenges.
The design team at Virgin Atlantic Airways is 15 people. They are located in a single office at Virgin Atlantic’s UK headquarters, and work closely with the company’s brand design team – as Joe Ferry, Head of Design and Service Design at Virgin Atlantic Airways, says, ‘It doesn’t feel right for me that brand is separate to product. The company also makes extensive use of external design consultancies to implement design projects.’
Historically, Virgin Atlantic employed designers with single functional roles: interior designers, architects, industrial designers and product designers. Driven by the need to rationalise during the post 9/11 economic slowdown in the air travel industry, a policy of multi-skilling designers was introduced. Today, designers from a wide variety of backgrounds will be involved in all projects at Virgin Atlantic, although Ferry admits that work is still tailored so ‘people’s specialisms come to the fore.’
In more depthFind out how other companies in our study hire designers who demonstrate a
wider skill set, including: multi-disciplinary working, business acumen and strategic thinking
Read more about how
multi-disciplinary teams are a key feature of the
Develop stage of the design processes observed in other companies that took part in our study
Innovation is a core brand value at Virgin Atlantic. The company uses unique elements of its service offering as a competitive differentiator and has a strong track record of market firsts. Since its inception, the airline has concentrated on delivering a high quality service at lower cost than competitors. Developments such as its Premium Economy class have helped it to do this.
The airline industry is a difficult one in which to operate. Fixed costs are high, demand can fluctuate quite dramatically and shortages of key airport infrastructure all make it difficult for airlines to operate profitably. Commercial aircraft produce significant quantities of CO2 and governments are under pressure to increase taxation of airline fuel consumption in order to drive improved environmental performance. Recent agreements between Europe and the US are expected to open key routes in and between both regions to wider competition. Implementing design changes is also a costly process for Virgin Atlantic. Like all airlines, it must get maximum use from its assets, thus minimising the time aircraft are taken out of service for refits or modifications.