Virgin Atlantic has confirmed the details of its forthcoming short-haul services, with 24 daily domestic flights operating between Heathrow Terminal 1 and Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester from March 31.
There will be six daily return services to Edinburgh, three to Aberdeen and three to Manchester, with tickets on sale from December 19 and costing from £99 return. The timetables for all three routes can be seen below.
As previously speculated, the carrier will lease Airbus A320 aircraft from Aer Lingus for these services, which will be painted in Virgin’s livery, and will offer “onboard product and service in keeping with what passengers have come to expect on Virgin’s long-haul routes”.
The aircraft will operate with a single cabin configuration, but Flying Club Gold card holders and Upper Class passengers connecting onto Upper Class long-haul flights will have access to airport lounges at their departure airport, plus access to limo transfer services.
The carrier will also provide “the best in British food and snacks on board, including a hot breakfast offering on early morning flights and specially-produced snacks during the rest of the day”. Virgin has confirmed this will be offered free of charge.
Commenting on the news CEO Steve Ridgway said:
"This is the beginning of an exciting new era in Virgin Atlantic history. It’s been a long time coming but the dawn of our short-haul service is now just a few months away. We’ve worked hard to produce the sort of operation that consumers have come to expect from us – with customer service and a unique approach to flying forming the key pillars for our new domestic routes.
"Most importantly, passengers will reap the benefits of increased choice and lower fares due to the reinjection of vital competition we can provide on these routes.
"We’ll be offering nine daily services to and from Scotland and three return flights between Manchester and London, giving us the scope to fly around one million passengers per year. Connecting passengers onto our long-haul flights means we are truly making the world a smaller place.”
The carrier will operate the former Bmi slots in and out of Heathrow T1, meaning customers will need to transfer between here and Terminal 3, where Virgin's long-haul services depart and arrive.
For more information visit virginatlantic.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
Timetable for Heathrow-Manchester service:
VS3041 – LHR 0920 MAN 1020
VS3043 – LHR 1610 MAN 1710
VS3045 – LHR 2010 MAN 2110
VS3046 – MAN 0650 LHR 0800
VS3042 – MAN 1220 LHR 1330
VS3044 – MAN 1750 LHR 1900
Timetable for services to and from Scotland:
