Virgin Atlantic is relaunching air links between London and Mumbai, with flights on sale from May 28. The first daily service is set to commence using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner in October, complementing the airline’s long-established route between Heathrow and Delhi. The new flights will depart and arrive Heathrow in the morning to align with connecting flows to and from US.
The airline founded by Sir Richard Branson first flew to Mumbai in 2005, but withdrew amid intense competition. The Heathrow-Mumbai link was restored in 2012 but dropped again three years later, when Virgin Atlantic entered a “codeshare” agreement to put passengers on Jet Airways’ twice-daily service on the route.
Juha Jarvinen, executive vice-president, commercial at Virgin Atlantic, said: “2019 marks a significant period of growth for Virgin Atlantic and I’m delighted that we’re continuing to expand our route network once more, by returning to Mumbai. Until recently we’ve been able to serve this important market through our partnership with Jet Airways, however, since Jet Airways has sadly suspended its operation, we now have an opportunity to provide alternative options for our customers and meet this demand.”
Meanwhile, in June, British Airways will scrap its daytime South Africa flights to cash in on the collapse of Jet Airways, adding an extra flight to Mumbai.
