▪ Airline will boost its international network with new daily direct services from London Heathrow to Bengaluru (Bangalore) from 31st March 2024 for both customer and cargo operations.
▪ The new service represents rapid growth to the India region with a capacity increase of 250% since 2019.
▪ Bengaluru flights will complement Virgin Atlantic’s existing flying from London Heathrow to Delhi and Mumbai.
Panaji-Goa: Virgin Atlantic is delighted to announce its expansion in India, offering customers more options to the region than ever before with new daily flying from London Heathrow to Bengaluru (Bangalore). Since 2019, Virgin Atlantic has increased capacity to India by 250%, the airlines’ largest area of growth outside the US. With the launch of Bengaluru in summer 2024, the airline will offer almost 500,000 seats each year between the UK and India, signalling its commitment to the country.
Launching on 31st March, the new service will boost the airline’s international network and will be the airline’s fourth daily service to India. As Virgin Atlantic returns to growth post pandemic, Bengaluru will complement its long-established double daily services between London Heathrow and Delhi, daily flying to Mumbai as well as its growing codeshare with IndiGo, India’s leading airline, which covers 34 destinations across India.
Bengaluru, also known as the Silicon Valley of India, is a rapidly growing tech hub and one of the largest corporate markets in India, whilst intrepid travellers will enjoy the city’s rich culture and beautiful parks and gardens. This new service will enhance connections between this fast-growing city and the UK, as well offering seamless connectivity and a consistent long-haul experience for those customers connecting via London Heathrow to destinations throughout North America including Seattle, San Francisco and New York JFK, with Virgin Atlantic and its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta Air Lines.
The Bengaluru flights will operate on Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft boasting 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium and 192 Economy Delight, Classic and Light seats as well as the airline’s signature Upper Class social space.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic, commented, “We couldn’t be happier to be expanding our offering in India, it’s a destination our people and customers love to fly to.
“Known as India’s Silicon Valley, the rapidly growing city of Bengaluru represents an incredibly exciting opportunity for us as we continue to expand our India offering, offering increased connectivity for customers not only between the city and the UK but to key tech hubs in the US including Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Whether travelling for business or leisure, we look forward to welcoming customers onboard offering them our signature personalised experience, delivered by our amazing people.”
As well as flying customers, Virgin Atlantic will offer a fast, efficient cargo service with 20 tonnes available on each flight. Bengaluru and the surrounding region is an industrial powerhouse, so demand for cargo is expected to be strong for companies looking to export and import goods such as fashion, pharmaceuticals and tech between prime markets in the UK, US and India.
Virgin Atlantic is also delighted to announce that it will be launching a seasonal winter service from London Heathrow to Dubai starting from 28th October 2023, a seasonal summer service from Manchester to Las Vegas beginning 3rd June 2024 and daily services to Sao Paulo from 13th May 2022.
