SUMMARY
- Virgin Atlantic will start daily flights between London and Toronto in March 2025.
- This marks Virgin’s return to Canada after not operating there since 2014.
- In addition to Canada, Virgin has expanded its codeshare agreement with WestJet and launched nonstop flights to Las Vegas from Manchester.
Virgin Atlantic has announced its return to Canada for the first time in more than a decade. From March 2025, the airline will connect London and Toronto daily.
Returning to Canada
Virgin Atlantic is an airline from the United Kingdom. Founded in 1982, it was meant to be called British Atlantic Airways, but after Sir Richard Branson became an investor, the name was changed to Virgin Atlantic. The airline’s first flight was in 1984 on a Boeing 747-200 from Gatwick Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
This year, Virgin Atlantic is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, the carrier announced it will resume flying to Canada for the first time in over a decade. Starting on March 30, 2025, Virgin Atlantic will fly daily between Heathrow Airport in London and Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada. The airline said that several aircraft will be deployed on the route, one being the Airbus A330neo (A330-900), which features the signature Retreat Suite.
With the launch of its new services, Virgin will compete with several airlines on the route – Air Canada, British Airways, and Air Transat. According to the Chief Operating Officer at YYZ, London was the largest international long-haul market for the airport in 2023.
“When starting Virgin Atlantic 40 years ago, I went against everyone’s advice. Friends, experts, the press, the pundits – and on paper, they were right. Back then, traveling by plane wasn’t a fun experience, but airlines were allowed to get away with it as no real competition existed. I realized then that there was a gap to give passengers a great experience – and I love a challenge. The result was our ruby red airline that shook up aviation.” – Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Atlantic
Flights are not yet available for booking on Virgin’s website, but they will be from next Wednesday, June 19. Roundtrip prices start at $800.
The last time Virgin operated in Canada was in 2014. At the time, the airline had been connecting London to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) on Canada’s west coast. According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, Virgin was deploying its Airbus A330-300s, A340-300s, and A340-600s to Vancouver, offering more than 11,000 seats during peak summer months.
In addition to expanding its route network to Canada, Virgin expanded its codeshare agreement with WestJet. The whole story can be found below.
Other network additions
Virgin also launched nonstop flights from Manchester Airport to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The new route to ‘Sin City’ is Virgin’s 15th United States route and second to Las Vegas, which also has flights from London. Data shows the airline is deploying its Airbus A350-1000s to Las Vegas thrice weekly, offering 10,322 seats on the route this month. Capable of carrying 397 passengers, Virgin’s A350-1000s are set in a three-cabin configuration with just 16 business class seats.
source:https://simpleflying.com