Virgin Atlantic has confirmed it is axing its daily flights between London and Shanghai from October.
Its last departure from Heathrow to China’s financial capital will be on 25 October and the last return flight will depart Shanghai on 26 October.
The airline blamed ‘significant challenges and complexities on this route’ for the ‘commercial decision’ to axe the service.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added around an hour to Virgin’s flights to Shanghai and about two hours to the return service, because they have to fly around Russian airspace. This has led to the need for additional aircraft and crew on the route, adding to the operational costs.
In a statement, Virgin said: “We’re sorry for the disappointment caused to our loyal customers and anyone booked to travel from 26 October 2024 will be offered a refund.”
Customers booked from 26 October will be contacted from 18 July to be offered a refund.
The axing of Virgin’s only flight to China leaves British Airways and China Eastern as the only airlines on the London to Shanghai route.
Virgin has not announced a new route for the Boeing 787 currently used to fly to Shanghai, saying instead that it will ‘bring resilience’ to its fleet.
However, there has been some speculation that it will bring forward the delayed launch of flights from London to Brazil’s Sao Paulo.
The service was due to begin in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Virgin later announced the Sao Paulo flights would start in May 2024, but the launch was again pushed back to summer 2025.
The post Where will Virgin Atlantic deploy its B787 when its Shanghai route is axed? appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
Its last departure from Heathrow to China’s financial capital will be on 25 October and the last return flight will depart Shanghai on 26 October.
The airline blamed ‘significant challenges and complexities on this route’ for the ‘commercial decision’ to axe the service.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has added around an hour to Virgin’s flights to Shanghai and about two hours to the return service, because they have to fly around Russian airspace. This has led to the need for additional aircraft and crew on the route, adding to the operational costs.
In a statement, Virgin said: “We’re sorry for the disappointment caused to our loyal customers and anyone booked to travel from 26 October 2024 will be offered a refund.”
Customers booked from 26 October will be contacted from 18 July to be offered a refund.
The axing of Virgin’s only flight to China leaves British Airways and China Eastern as the only airlines on the London to Shanghai route.
Virgin has not announced a new route for the Boeing 787 currently used to fly to Shanghai, saying instead that it will ‘bring resilience’ to its fleet.
However, there has been some speculation that it will bring forward the delayed launch of flights from London to Brazil’s Sao Paulo.
The service was due to begin in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic. Virgin later announced the Sao Paulo flights would start in May 2024, but the launch was again pushed back to summer 2025.
The post Where will Virgin Atlantic deploy its B787 when its Shanghai route is axed? appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
