LONDON – Carrier Virgin Atlantic has launched two new routes to paradise-islands Turks & Caicos, as well as the Maldives, starting in 2023. The newly announced routes offers Brits along with other travellers, a new gateway to the city and beach of their dreams
British gateway to heaven?
In a recent announcement, UK carrier Virgin Atlantic (VS), announced two new destinations creating a British gateway to the two dream-like destinations of Turks & Caicos, along with the Maldives.
The Maldives-service will initially be launched as a thrice-weekly winter seasonal service, from London Heathrow Airport (LHR), and tickets are due to go on sale from November 30, before the route itself is inaugurated on October 22, 2023.
As for the route to Turks & Caicos, this destination will see a year-round twice-weekly service from London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with sales due to start at January 11, 2023, before that route inaugurates on November 15, 2023.
The scheduled equipment utilized for both destinations, will be Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which is equipped with 31 seats of Virgin Atlantic’s “Upper Class”, 35 seats in their Premium Economy Class, along with a further 192 Economy Class seats, with three Economy sub-classes being Virgin Atlantic’s Economy Delight, Economy Classic and Economy Light.
As the flights are yet to go on sale, no advance pricing is known, but will be announced at a later date.
Virgin Atlantic statements
With the announcement, Virgin Atlantic’ Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Juha Jarvinen, stated: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to add these two exotic new routes to our flying portfolio. Nothing sets our hearts soaring like a new destination to explore, so, with two about join our network, there’s only really one question. Where to first?”
“The Maldives has always been an incredibly popular destination for Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers, which is why we couldn’t wait to give them the opportunity to travel to the idyllic location in style onboard Virgin Atlantic aircraft.”
“We’re delighted to begin flying to the Turks & Caicos islands, as we continue to grow our Caribbean portfolio, offering more choice for our customers to explore these beautiful islands and enjoy some winter sun.”
“We know our customers will be over the moon with the introduction of these new destinations, both offering something unique for travellers looking to either simply relax or explore a new corner of the world.”
Virgin’s latest long-haul fleet member
Additionally to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet scheduled to be used for these services, Virgin Atlantic have just recently started utilizing their first Airbus A330neo aircraft for long-haul operations, to destinations such as New York and Tampa, Florida.
Virgin Atlantic took delivery of their first Airbus A330neo in mid-October of this year, with the delivery also marking the 50th Airbus aircraft for the carrier.
With an initial order for 13 aircraft of the type, and option for 16, it remains clear that the addition of these planes will replace their older Airbus A330-300ceo aircraft, which is a part of Virgin’s fleet renewal.
Though, with these new routes, some may wonder why this new aircraft isn’t set to be used on these destinations, something Virgin Atlantic themselves haven’t mentioned anything about as of now.
However, the Boeing 787-9 is a popular and suitable aircraft type for these long-haul destinations, and Virgin Atlantic has 17 of them complimenting a great variety of other long-haul aircraft.
