Virgin Atlantic eyes Indian skies, aims to touch 1 million seats by 2025

It launched a new daily direct flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru on March 31 and will launch its second daily direct service from London Heathrow to Mumbai from October 2024

UK-based carrier Virgin Atlantic aims to touch 1 million seats in India by 2025 with the launch of its new daily direct services from London Heathrow to Bengaluru that touched down on April 1, 2024. Currently, the number of seats stands at about 900,000.

The airline is scheduled to launch its second daily direct service from London Heathrow to Mumbai from October 2024. The two new services complement Virgin Atlantic’s existing services to Delhi and Mumbai. The new flight to Mumbai will be the airline’s fifth daily service to India and its target of 1 million seats reflects a 350 per cent capacity growth since 2019.

India is a key strategic market for the airline and its largest area of growth outside the US. “In terms of seats, India is the third largest market after North America and the Caribbean… There is robust demand in the Indian market, which has strengthened after the pandemic,” Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss said at an event in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

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“It (India) has a dynamic, fast-growing economy and we are anticipating huge growth in demand for international travel from the region. Next year marks 25 years of operations and with our new daily service to Bengaluru and second daily service to Mumbai, it will be the first time that we will offer more than one million seats from London Heathrow,” said Weiss.

In addition to passenger travel, it will also provide significant momentum to cargo operations with additional capacity to support the movement of goods from the fashion, pharmaceuticals, and tech sectors, the airlines said. With five daily services, Virgin Atlantic Cargo will offer over 40 million kg of space to and from India, a 336 per cent increase in capacity versus 2019.

The new services will operate on the airline’s 787-9 Dreamliner offering customers the option of Upper Class, Premium, and Economy Delight, Classic and Light as well as the airline’s unique Upper Class social space. It will also offer seamless connectivity and a premium long-haul experience for those customers connecting via London Heathrow to and from destinations throughout North America including Seattle, San Francisco, and New York JFK, with Virgin Atlantic and transatlantic joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines.

In addition to offering direct services to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, Virgin Atlantic has a strategic codeshare partnership with India’s airline IndiGo. “Customers can book one ticket which allows them to connect seamlessly from other destinations in India such as Ahmedabad, Goa and Hyderabad onto London Heathrow. In total the partnership offers 36 additional destinations and has so far connected over 80,000 customers since the launch in September 2022,” the airlines said in a statement.

When asked how the carrier plans to compete with existing players in the market, Weiss said, it hinges on delivering quality and a more personalised experience. As part of its strategy, Virgin Atlantic will quadruple the number of Indian-based cabin crew this summer to offer a more personalised service to the Indian fliers. “We love competition,” he said.