Virgin Atlantic’s Spare Dreamliners Are Heading to Warsaw

LOT Polish Airlines is set to take two Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners from Virgin Atlantic, which is trimming a Boeing-heavy widebody fleet in favour of Airbus. The jets are due to arrive in 2027, with LOT chief executive Michal Fijol saying they should be in service in the first half of the year, ahead of the summer peak. Neither airline has disclosed a price, and the coverage reviewed noted that no formal statement confirmed the sale.

For Virgin Atlantic, the sale takes its 787 fleet from 17 aircraft to 14. The airline is standardising on the Airbus A330neo and A350-1000, which simplifies pilot training, spares and maintenance. By the first quarter of 2028 its planned widebody fleet is 14 787-9s, 12 A330neos and 12 A350-1000s, a mix that keeps a consistent onboard product on its premium-heavy core US routes.

LOT already flies eight 787-9s and seven 787-8s, and Fijol wants 19 long-haul widebodies available for the 2027 high season. The carrier plans to refresh the cabins rather than fully reconfigure them, keeping the layout close to Virgin’s to avoid a lengthy interior re-certification. It has bought used Dreamliners before, so the approach is familiar.

For travellers, the likely benefit is more long-haul capacity from Warsaw next summer, though LOT has not announced where the extra aircraft will fly. The more immediate lesson is how scarce delivery slots are pushing airlines to trade used widebodies among themselves, giving growing carriers a faster route to capacity than waiting for new aircraft.

Sources: Aerocorner, InsideFlyer