India
British airline Virgin to launch second daily flight between Mumbai and London next month | India News – Times of India
MUMBAI: British airline Virgin Atlantic Ocean will add a flight from Mumbai to London in October, with two daily departures from the city. Currently there are three airlines: Air India, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operates a total of six daily flights from Mumbai to London.
The new flight to Mumbai, which starts on October 27, is Virgin’s fifth daily service to India. Demand from India has been strong. Passenger load factors on flights to and from India are around 90%, compared with 78-80% on the global network, said the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Järvinen, who was in the city last week.
Virgin Atlantic’s second daily flight from Mumbai is expected to depart at 4am and land in London at 9am (all local times), to fit in well with morning flights from Heathrow to the US, it said. Shivani Singh Deocountry manager, India, Virgin Atlantic. Virgin currently has a daily morning flight at 10.35am from Mumbai to London, where around 30% of the traffic is transit traffic – passengers flying onwards from London.
The new early morning flight from Mumbai is expected to see a much higher percentage of transit passengers, around 80%, Järvinen said. Similarly, the morning flight from Delhi sees around 20% transit passengers, while the overnight flight arriving in London early in the morning leaves with around 55-60% flyers booked to fly on to other destinations. From Bengaluru, 60% of passengers fly on, largely to the US.
Virgin Atlantic, which calls itself a “challenger brand”, will celebrate 25 years in India in July 2025. India is its third-largest market after the US and the UK, Järvinen said. Virgin’s seat capacity to/from India will grow to over a million seats in 2025, which would be a 350% increase in capacity compared to the pre-Covid year of 2019. Much of this growth will be in the premium category, he added.
In March, Virgin launched a new non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru. It operates two daily flights to Delhi. With five daily services, Virgin Atlantic cargo will offer over 40 million kg of space to and from India, a 336% increase in capacity compared to 2019. Virgin Atlantic has a codeshare partnership with IndiGo, allowing passengers to connect seamlessly to 38 Indian destinations on a single ticket. By 2030, Virgin plans to fly non-stop from London Heathrow to two more destinations in India.
More than a decade ago, the United Kingdom was the fourth-busiest international destination from India, according to OAG, a UK-based aviation data company. But with Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways no longer in the picture, seat availability on the Mumbai-London-Mumbai route has dropped significantly. Thailand has replaced the United Kingdom and is now the fourth-busiest international destination from India, according to OAG. British Airways currently operates three daily departures from Mumbai to London, while Air India operates two daily departures.
With Virgin’s second daily flight from Mumbai next month, the total number of nonstop flights on the Mumbai-London route will rise to seven daily flights in the upcoming winter schedule. Vistara pulled out of the Mumbai-London route this summer. Airfares for nonstop flights on the Mumbai-London route have increased in the wake of the pandemic. Currently, the cheapest economy class return fares for travel two months later, in November, start at around Rs 61,000.
The new flight to Mumbai, which starts on October 27, is Virgin’s fifth daily service to India. Demand from India has been strong. Passenger load factors on flights to and from India are around 90%, compared with 78-80% on the global network, said the airline’s Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Järvinen, who was in the city last week.
Virgin Atlantic’s second daily flight from Mumbai is expected to depart at 4am and land in London at 9am (all local times), to fit in well with morning flights from Heathrow to the US, it said. Shivani Singh Deocountry manager, India, Virgin Atlantic. Virgin currently has a daily morning flight at 10.35am from Mumbai to London, where around 30% of the traffic is transit traffic – passengers flying onwards from London.
The new early morning flight from Mumbai is expected to see a much higher percentage of transit passengers, around 80%, Järvinen said. Similarly, the morning flight from Delhi sees around 20% transit passengers, while the overnight flight arriving in London early in the morning leaves with around 55-60% flyers booked to fly on to other destinations. From Bengaluru, 60% of passengers fly on, largely to the US.
Virgin Atlantic, which calls itself a “challenger brand”, will celebrate 25 years in India in July 2025. India is its third-largest market after the US and the UK, Järvinen said. Virgin’s seat capacity to/from India will grow to over a million seats in 2025, which would be a 350% increase in capacity compared to the pre-Covid year of 2019. Much of this growth will be in the premium category, he added.
In March, Virgin launched a new non-stop flight from London Heathrow to Bengaluru. It operates two daily flights to Delhi. With five daily services, Virgin Atlantic cargo will offer over 40 million kg of space to and from India, a 336% increase in capacity compared to 2019. Virgin Atlantic has a codeshare partnership with IndiGo, allowing passengers to connect seamlessly to 38 Indian destinations on a single ticket. By 2030, Virgin plans to fly non-stop from London Heathrow to two more destinations in India.
More than a decade ago, the United Kingdom was the fourth-busiest international destination from India, according to OAG, a UK-based aviation data company. But with Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways no longer in the picture, seat availability on the Mumbai-London-Mumbai route has dropped significantly. Thailand has replaced the United Kingdom and is now the fourth-busiest international destination from India, according to OAG. British Airways currently operates three daily departures from Mumbai to London, while Air India operates two daily departures.
With Virgin’s second daily flight from Mumbai next month, the total number of nonstop flights on the Mumbai-London route will rise to seven daily flights in the upcoming winter schedule. Vistara pulled out of the Mumbai-London route this summer. Airfares for nonstop flights on the Mumbai-London route have increased in the wake of the pandemic. Currently, the cheapest economy class return fares for travel two months later, in November, start at around Rs 61,000.
