Virgin Atlantic is significantly expanding its presence in India, marking a strategic shift for the airline. This week saw the launch of their third route between the UK and India, a daily service connecting London Heathrow with the bustling tech hub of Bengaluru.
In a celebratory event held in Bengaluru, the airline announced even more good news for Indian travellers. A second daily service between London and Mumbai will begin operations in October. With existing flights to Delhi, Virgin Atlantic will offer a total of five daily departures to India by autumn, representing a substantial 10% of the airline’s global capacity.
This expansion translates to over a million seats available for flights to India in 2025, a staggering 350% increase from 2019. Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss highlighted India’s importance during an interview onboard the inaugural Bengaluru flight. He placed India alongside the Caribbean in terms of strategic focus, citing a mix of business traffic, leisure travel, and visiting friends and relatives (VFR) facilitated by their codeshare partnership with IndiGo, which offers connections to 36 destinations within India.
“The fast-growing tech industry in Bengaluru perfectly aligns with our target market,” Weiss said, emphasising that the city boasts more “Unicorns” (private companies valued over $1 billion) than both Delhi and Mumbai combined.
Virgin Atlantic’s strategic move towards India comes alongside the release of their 2023 financial results. While reporting record revenues and narrowed losses compared to 2022, the report highlights a slower than expected return of corporate travel compared to leisure travel. Virgin Atlantic remains optimistic and is targeting profitability in 2024.
“I’m delighted to be here in Bengaluru celebrating not just one, but two new Virgin Atlantic services,” Weiss said at a press conference. “India presents a tremendous opportunity for us. It’s a dynamic and rapidly growing economy, and we anticipate significant growth in demand for international travel from the region. These new flights solidify our commitment to India.”
The new Bengaluru service utilises Boeing 787-9 aircraft, departing London Heathrow at 12:25 PM and arriving in Bengaluru at 2:45 AM the next day. The return flight departs Bengaluru at 4:35 AM and arrives in London at 10:45 AM.
