Latest news

As we move into our Summer flying season, there are a few changes for Summer 2023 to highlight:

• Our second daily TLV rotation (VS457/458) will also commence at the start of S23 and will maintain a daily frequency throughout the season. Ideal to enhance our connections, the outbound flight departs LHR at 0820L, meaning we can connect customers from inbound flights such as JNB, JFK, IAD and ATL.

• We’re restarting our LHR-PVG route on 1st May, more than 850 days since we paused passenger flying there due to the pandemic.

• Our joint venture flying is strengthened with the resumption of our sixth daily LHR-JFK rotation from the end of March, operating daily for the full duration of the summer season. MIA2 also continuing, which have proven extremely popular for passengers and cargo.

• Regionally, our network is also ramping up during S23; MAN-JFK starts at 5x weekly before increasing to daily in early June. MAN-ATL resumes on June 1st with daily flights, MAN-MCO and EDI-MCO resumes twice weekly from 21st June.

• From 12th May, our ANU route switches from 4x weekly non-stop to/from LHR, to 1x weekly tag from our BGI Caribbean hub, each Friday, for the remainder of the S23 season. ANU direct services will be back in W23 season.

• As previously announced, we're unfortunately withdrawing from Pakistan, with our final LHE departure on 1st May and our final ISB departure on 9th July.
  

• Ahmedabad (AMD)
• Allahabad (IXD)
• Amritsar (ATQ)
• Bagdogra (IXB)
• Bangalore (BLR)
• Bhopal (BHO)
• Bhubaneshwar (BBI)
• Chandigarh (IXC)
• Chennai (MAA)
• Coimbatore (CJB)
• Goa (GOI) & (GOX)
• Guwahati GAU
• Gwalior GWL
• Hyderabad (HYD)
• Indore (IDR)
• Jaipur (JAI)
• Jabalpur (JLR)
• Jammu (IXJ)
• Jodhpur (JDH)
• Kanpur (KNU)
• Kochi (COK)
• Kolkata (CCU)
• Leh (IXL)
• Lucknow (LKO)
• Nagpur (NAG)
• Patna (PAT)
• Pune (PNQ)
• Raipur (RPR)
• Ranchi (IXR)
• Srinagar (SXR)
• Surat (STV)
• Vadodara (BDQ)
• Varanasi (VNS)
• Vizag (VTZ)

Read more about our partnership here.

The first phase of the agreement, which launched on 25 March, will allow customers booking through Virgin Atlantic the opportunity to travel directly to Incheon Airport, in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.  By June customers will be able to connect onwards from Seoul to a variety of destinations throughout Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. 

The codeshare with Korean Air is a first step towards Virgin Atlantic's entry to Seoul and is set to enhance the airline’s network in Asia.  From May, services to Shanghai, China will resume, alongside an expanded codeshare with IndiGo throughout India and beyond.

Korean Air is one of the founding members of the SkyTeam alliance, of which Virgin Atlantic joined earlier this month.  Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will be able to take advantage of SkyPriority services at Seoul Incheon, including priority check in, baggage handling and boarding. 

Destinations available for onward connections;

Say hello to the new face of corporate travel, that embraces the dynamism of business today. It's about making sure that every traveller has their personal needs met, as well as their business ones, and recognising and empowering our partners with the right content, tools and support, whenever you need it.

Say hello to SkyTeam

We fly direct to incredible places. But if there’s somewhere on your customers wander list that we can’t take them to, we want them to have the best kind of journey all the way there. And that’s where our SkyTeam partners swoop in.

SkyTeam is a global partnership of like-minded airlines, working together to power the most seamless travel experience, no matter where in the world your customers are heading or the connections they make to get there.

It opens up a huge network of over 1000 destinations, And if your customer is a member of our Flying Club, they’ll be able to earn and redeem Virgin Points when they fly with any airline in the SkyTeam family. The sky’s the limit.

Seamless travel, joined up benefits

With SkyTeam, you can book their entire trip on a single ticket, with baggage checked all the way through to their final destination. with extra benefits like priority boarding, extra baggage allowance, lounge access and more.

Tier benefits

If your customer is a Flying Club Gold member, they'll enjoy Elite Plus status when flying with any SkyTeam airline. Flying Club Silver members will have access to Elite benefits.

Lounge access

Flying Club Gold members and members travelling in First and Business Class on SkyTeam airlines can access more than 750 lounges worldwide.

SkyPriority

As part of SkyTeam, members have access to the time-saving service SkyPriority. Available at more than 970 airports worldwide for all Flying Club members when flying in Business or First on SkyTeam member airlines and for Gold members in any cabin.

Customers simply need to keep an eye out for the red SkyPriority signs which guide them through airports with speed and ease. From priority check-in, boarding and baggage handling, to priority lanes at ticket offices, transfer desks, security and immigration – it’s all seamless*

*For Red & Silver Flying Club members, where SkyPriority benefits are not part of SkyTeam Elite benefits, they can enjoy them if they fly in Business Class or First Class with a SkyTeam airline.

Who we are

*AeroMexico

*Aerolineas Argentinas

*Air Europa

*Air France

*China Airlines

*China Eastern

*Czech Airlines

*Delta Air Lines

*Garuda Indonesia

*ITA Airways

*Kenya Airways

*KLM

*Korean Air

*Middle Eastern Airlines

*Saudia

*Tarom

*Vietnam Airlines

*Xiamen Air

It’s been a long time since we last looked down on Shanghai ‘s iconic Lujiazui skyline through the parting clouds, but at last, we’re back. And we can’t wait to welcome customers onboard and take them off on new adventures. Whether it’s for business, study, reuniting with friends and family, or just a completely different change of scene, we’re ready to fly them in style between London Heathrow and Shangai.

This is a milestone for us here at Virgin Atlantic as this route is the final to return following the global pandemic and now sees our full flying programme restored.

Our daily direct flights begin again on 01 May 2023 and are on sale now.

Operating a Boeing 787-9 our mutual customers will have the choice of our three beautiful cabins: Upper Class, Premium or Economy.

Our Flying Schedule looks like this:

schedule subject to government approval 

On 12^th January, we were thrilled to be named Best Long-Haul Airline in the prestigious Globe Travel Awards of 2023. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts for showing the love. It means all the more to be recognised in this way, because it’s only your votes that made it happen. 

Virgin Atlantic’s incredible new year deals are here, with up to £200 off flights to destinations all over the world.  

There are even more amazing places for customers to choose from in 2023, as Virgin Atlantic launch direct flights to the indescribably beautiful Maldives and Turks and Caicos. And that’s on top of all the stunning destinations we already fly to – so whether it’s getting lost in La La Land or living like Lady Liberty in New York, there are dream trips at dream prices for all our mutual customers.  

We’re absolutely thrilled to let you know that in 2023 we will be flying to two idyllic islands, the Maldives and Turks & Caicos.

We will be offering a winter seasonal three-times weekly service to the Maldives from London Heathrow. Flights will go on sale on 30 November 2022 with the first heading to this beautiful island on 22 October 2023. And a year-round twice weekly service to the Turks & Caicos which will go on sale from 11 January 2023 , for flights to start on 15 November 2023 from London Heathrow. 

Operating our Boeing 787-900 aircraft to both destinations, boasting 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium and 192 Economy Delight, Classic and Light seats, we can't wait to welcome our mutual customers onboard as they escape to their very own slice of utopia. 

We’re getting ready for our version of the Oscars, The Globe Travel Awards, and we've been nominated for not one, but four awards. We’re up for:

·       Best Long-Haul Airline

·       Best Premium Airline Service

·       Best Trade Sales Team

·       Best Trade Friendly Brand

We think all our people are incredible, but it means even more coming from you. So, if we've flown the extra mile for you, please show the love. 

Vote for us here 

We’ve changed our uniform code to give our crew, pilot and ground teams the option to choose which of our iconic uniforms, designed by Vivienne Westwood, best represents them. 

This policy reflects the diversity of our workforce and it’s complemented by the roll out of optional pronoun badges for our people and those travelling with us, as well as inclusivity training for our people and the partners we work with in destinations, alongside a series of other industry-leading inclusivity initiatives for our people.  

At Virgin Atlantic, we believe that everyone can take on the world, no matter who they are or how they identify. That’s why it’s so important we champion the individuality of our people and customers, enabling them to be their true selves at work and when flying with us.  

Find out more about our inclusivity commitments here. 

The SkyTeam Alliance is a global partnership of  airlines, working together to provide customers with seamless travel to over 1,000 destinations. ​

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Globally connected​
This powerful team of airlines serves more than 170 countries, six continents, more than 10,000 flight departures every day, and more than 341 million passengers every year. SkyTeam is dedicated to providing the most seamless customer journey of any global alliance.​

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Mutually rewarding ​
Customers will have more opportunities to earn and redeem points across  member airlines and access a network of 750 airport lounges across the world. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will enjoy benefits across every airline that’s a member of SkyTeam. Silver members will be recognised as SkyTeam Elite, and Gold members will be recognised as Sky Team Elite Plus. Depending on their tier, customers will be able to access priority boarding, extra baggage allowance, lounge access and much more.​

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Who we are​

• Aeromexico
• Aerolineas Argentinas, 
• Air Europa
• Air France
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• Czech Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Garuda Indonesia
• ITA Airways
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• Middle Eastern Airlines
• Saudia
• Tarom
• Vietnam Airlines
• Xiamen Air

We've got great news. We’ve just announced a new codeshare partnership with India’s biggest airline IndiGo, making it really simple to connect to seven additional cities via Delhi and Mumbai, and a total of sixteen destinations later in the year.

Our new codeshare with IndiGo is a brilliant addition to our network of airline partners, with flights that line up neatly with ours, coordinated bag handling, and even more opportunity to earn Virgin Points with Flying Club.

The first flight is on 27th September 2022* and goes on sale through your GDS later this week. 

Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, and Delta Air Lines share a passion for elevating the customer’s experience both in-flight and before their trip.  That’s why the industry-leading Transatlantic joint venture airline partners have collaboratively developed innovative Display Guidelines

The new Joint Display Guidelines are designed to elevate product displays in indirect channels.  These guidelines outline expectations and requirements to offer the B2B community a unique opportunity to innovate the user experience by ensuring consistency across channels, transparency of product attributes, and a full choice of all products.

Applying the new Joint Display Guidelines to shopping displays will continue to build mutual customer trust by ensuring that fares, products, and features are displayed clearly and accurately across all channels.

We will distribute the joint Display Guidelines by September 2022, representing Virgin Atlantic and Air France, KLM in Europe, the United Kingdom, Africa, the Middle East, and India. Our partners Delta Air Lines will be sharing the same with United States, Canada, and Mexico.  

You may recall that we shared the Virgin Atlantic Display Standards back in 2019 and these joint guidelines will supersede those.

If you have any questions about this, please contact us using our Get in Touch form, or your Account Manager. 

We want all our mutual customers to love their experience when they fly with us and recognise that many of them have their favourite place in the cabin. Therefore, we are delighted to let you know that we are extending our preferred seating to Premium customers, giving them more choice and control so they can select a location that suits their individual preference in our award-winning cabin. 

From 23 August 2022 there’ll be a fee to select some seats in Premium, such as rows towards the front of the plane and these will only be able to be booked through our website. Other Premium seats will still be available to select for free at any time before departure.

Before the fee is introduced, we would like to give your customers booked in Premium the opportunity to select one of these preferred seat types for free, these can be booked in the normal way up until the new policy is in place.

The seat allocation policy for all other ticket types remains unchanged.

And our Flying Club Gold, Delta Diamond and Platinum members and our corporate customers can select a Premium Preferred seat free of charge from time of booking as they do today for Economy seats.

Saying hello to a new aircraft is a big deal for us. It’s so much more than wings, engines and paint. It’s years of hard work and collaboration between so many teams. It’s inspiration and innovation. It’s research, design, and testing. It’s people who are passionate about improving every aspect of travel.

Our new A330neo is the perfect example of how we reimagine onboard experiences and lead the way with fresh ideas. We've put our heart and soul into creating something brilliantly different from the tiniest details, like the colour of the seat stitching, to bigger game changers like reducing carbon emissions by 11%.

Our award-winning social space, the Loft, is an exclusive spot for our Upper Class customers to come together. With space for eight people, and four comfy seats, your customers can sit and chat, grab a drink from the self-service fridge-freezer, connect  Bluetooth headphones to the panoramic touchscreens – or just enjoy a change of scene mid-flight.

And that’s not all, The Retreat Suite in Upper Class is a beautiful new addition to Upper Class, situated at the front of the cabin, with lots of extra space, huge storage, bigger screens, and the ability to create a private onboard social space. Up to four people can comfortably dine, chat or work. Just raise the electronic divider between the seats and close the door for full privacy. It’s your customers space to travel the way they choose.

And that's not all, here's some cabin highlights at a glance:

Watch our video here and discover more about our A330neo.

We’re so excited to announce the launch of a brand new direct service between London Heathrow and Tampa Florida.

Flights to TPA start on 3^rd November* , and they’re on sale from 13^th July 2022.

+1 denotes next day arrival

*Flight schedule is subject to change without notice.

The new year-round Florida service will initially fly four times a week before increasing to daily from 28th November, complementing our up to four daily flights to Orlando and double daily flights to Miami.

Offering more than 190,000 seats each year, we will be the only airline to directly connect Tampa with the London hub airport, London Heathrow. 

Both Virgin Atlantic and joint venture partner Delta Air Lines, look forward to launching this new service offering even more connectivity for customers travelling between the UK and the US.”

At Virgin Atlantic, we’ve always been proud to champion individuality. Both of our people, of our amazing customers, and the brilliant partners we work with – like you. So it seemed only right for our fabulous new campaign to be a wonderful, colourful celebration of the diversity of the world around us.

We salute those who are their own captains, a crew like no other. Those who were born to fly. Those who see the world differently.

You can watch our fabulous new TV advert in all its glory right here. We can’t wait for you to see it.

Watch now 

We hate to blow our own trumpet, but proudly we want to share with you that on the 14th March 2022, we were granted ‘Airline Retailing Maturity’ status as an Airline, under the Airline Retailing Maturity (ARM) index program. This status recognises that we use Shop capabilities which are compliant with the standard Enhanced and Simplified Distribution message schema, version 18.1 and the ARM index Capabilities Verification Guidance.

Our new ARM status replaces our previous IATA Level 3 Capability status. But what does this actually mean? I hear you ask. The Airline Retailing Maturity index allows us to be more agile with technical development and capability releases. So, instead of gathering and releasing one large update to our website at proposed intervals, we now have the flexibility to make changes as and when they are required.

This has no impact to our mutual customer’s, it just helps us behind the scenes and recognises our NDC capabilities that we have worked so hard to achieve. 

Making it easy to explore South America 

We are delighted to announce a new codeshare agreement with LATAM Airlines offering our mutual customers the opportunity to fly seamlessly to the South American country of Brazil.

Customers booking onto the new codeshare flights are now able to travel from London Heathrow direct to São Paulo as well as connecting onwards to 12 domestic airports in Brazil including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Florianopolis.

This also means for any of your customers travelling from São Paulo to London Heathrow, they will have the option to smoothly connect onto the rest of our world destinations through Terminal 3 including Tel Aviv, Delhi and Hong Kong.

Check out the new adventures that await your customers, flights are on sale now and can be seen in your GDS.

A big Welcome back for our Revivals Lounge

There is nothing better for your customers than re-energising after a long overnight flight. With a power shower and a cup of coffee, they'll be ready for their day ahead. 

The lounge is available on arrival for eligible passengers, including Flying Club Gold members, Upper Class and Delta One customers.

Find out more about our Revivals Lounge here. 

Howdy Austin

We’re so excited to announce the launch of a brand new direct service from London Heathrow to Austin, Texas four times a week. This buzzy, brilliant city is the capital of the Lone Star State, a perfect spot for a city break with a difference. It is also home to a mix of industries, making it big on business.

Tuck into some proper barbecue food, tour vineyards and try some Texan wine (yes, really), two-step to live music in a genuine Western bar, explore beaches, canyons and mountains, even learn how to be a cowboy on a real ranch. And, the state is home to multiple industries from computer and electronic goods to motor vehicle and parts, and the production of food and beverages. Everything’s bigger in Texas, and that includes the adventures and business opportunities that are waiting.

This service will operate on our Boeing 787-9 aircraft boasting 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium and 192 Economy Delight, Classic and Light seats.

Flights to Austin start on 25^th May 2022, and they’ll be on sale from 12 January.

EasyPay, a simple way to pay for tickets

With the excitement of the new year, comes the excitement of a new, easy way to pay for your customers tickets for travel on Virgin Atlantic.

IATA EasyPay is a secure, flexible e-wallet which you can top up and pay for tickets* as you issue them. It is available to all accredited agents, so providing you have an IATA EasyPay account with funds available this service is free and simple to use.

With increased choice, flexibility and convenience this payment method allows IATA to settle EasyPay amounts to airlines daily, and can be used in addition to the traditional BSP cash and card options. You will also be able to void and refund your IATA EasyPay transactions as usual through the BSP.

Interested in getting an EasyPay account? Get started here.

Before customers fly, they may need to present evidence of a negative Covid-19 test and/or proof of fully vaccinated status. To make this easier, we’ve partnered with TrustAssure™ to enable them to upload and pre-verify these documents in advance, before you travel to the airport. By confirming Virgin Atlantic FlyReady status in ‘My booking’, our customers will have a smoother check in and boarding experience at the airport.

Virgin Atlantic FlyReady status will show airline agents that travellers have met the test or vaccination requirements for their destination, but they should still bring original test and/or vaccination certificates with them and complete any other entry documents, such as US attestation form or UK Passenger Locator Form. You can find more info on the travel requirements for the US and UK here.

Using FlyReady is entirely optional, and currently only available to customers aged 18 and above. The tool supports a smooth and streamlined airport experience, with important documentation approved in advance. Limited personal information will be securely shared with TrustAssure™, such as name and date of birth, as well as flight details for verification purposes. This will include information about others in the booking too, so that we can check everyone is eligible for Virgin Atlantic FlyReady.

TrustAssure™ will let us know whether test results or vaccine certificates have been approved for travel to their destination, but will not share these documents with us, or any other personal health information.

Most importantly, we want our mutual customers to have a hassle-free journey, knowing that they’ll fly safe and well with us.

Please note:

• Customers travelling as part of a group (9 adult passengers or less), to use the FlyReady Check In desk, all members of the travelling party must have pre-verified documents.

• As children under 18 are currently unable to use FlyReady, families should proceed to the documentation checkpoint at the airport, even in circumstances where the adults on the booking have completed the FlyReady process.

• Customers using proof of recovery from Covid-19 in the previous 90 days as their health credential to travel to the US, instead of a pre-departure test, should present this at the airport as it’s not possible yet to pre-verify this through FlyReady.

From 10 December, Virgin Atlantic customers at Los Angeles Airport (LAX) can enjoy a streamlined customer experience as we've temporarily moved our full operation, including check in, into the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), from our usual home in Terminal 2.

To support a better customer experience during ongoing construction work, Virgin Atlantic will relocate to the world-class TBIT (also known as Terminal B) with check-in, Lounge access and gates all located within the spacious terminal which also boasts a variety of shops and restaurants.

Check-in is located at A, near security, providing an easy transition from check-in to security. 

As part of the terminal change, eligible customers have access to the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX, in partnership with codeshare partner, Air New Zealand, which operates the lounge. The lounge is available to Upper Class passengers, with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold members welcomed from 17 December.

The Star Alliance Lounge has many amenities including , including spacious areas to work, dine or relax, shower suites, plus a serviced bar with complimentary cocktails and refreshments along with a noodle bar . There is a quiet, library room and plenty of seating throughout the lounge.  Or, customers can relax on the outdoor terrace complete with fire pits and a water wall.y

It is a short walk from the Star Alliance Lounge to the Virgin Atlantic gate.  Lounge to gate in 5 minutes.