Virgin Atlantic has added a second daily flight to Mumbai, the airline’s fifth daily service to India that complements its double daily services to capital New Delhi and recently launched flights to the southern city of Bengaluru.

Commencing on October 27, 2024, and on sale from April 10, 2024, the services will operate on the airline’s state-of-the-art Airbus A350-1000, offering customers the option of Upper Class, Premium and Economy Delight, Classic and Light as well as the airline’s signature Upper Class social space.  

From 2025, Virgin Atlantic will offer over one million seats in the country, a 350% capacity growth since 2019, cementing India’s position as a key strategic market for the airline and marking its largest area of growth outside the United States.

Alongside options for customers, the increase in flying is also a huge boost for cargo operations with additional capacity to support the movement of goods from the fashion, pharmaceuticals and tech sectors.

With five daily services, Virgin Atlantic Cargo will offer over 40 million kg of space to and from India, a 336% increase in capacity versus 2019.

It will also offer seamless connectivity and a premium long-haul experience for those customers connecting via London Heathrow from destinations throughout North America including Seattle, San Francisco and New York JFK, with Virgin Atlantic and transatlantic joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines.

Virgin Atlantic said it will also quadruple the number of Indian based cabin crew operating on our India routes this summer. Through GSA partner InterGlobe Air Transport, the airline will now average four Indian cabin crew on each flight in order to deliver a more personalised service to Indian customers.

In addition to offering three direct destinations in India from London Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic has a strategic partnership with IndiGo, India’s leading airline.

Customers can book one ticket which allows them to connect seamlessly to other popular destinations in India such as Ahmedabad, Goa and Hyderabad through Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

In total the partnership offers 36 additional destinations and has so far connected over 80,000 customers.

Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, Virgin Atlantic, said: “There is a huge opportunity for us in India, it has a dynamic, fast-growing economy, and we’re anticipating a huge growth in demand for international travel from the region.

“We know both our customers and people love travelling to India, and we have a rich history in the destination. Next year marks 25 years of operations and the first time that we’ll offer more than one million seats from London Heathrow. 

“The doubling of our Mumbai services reaffirms our strong commitment and will allow our customers to travel seamlessly throughout India and beyond, flying on one of the youngest fleets in the skies, with our signature personalised service, delivered by our amazing people.” – TradeArabia News Service