Virgin Atlantic and Delta have announced an increase in capacity on transatlantic routes from next year, with Delta also introducing its Delta One cabin on routes from Heathrow.
From March 24, 2018, Delta will roster its A330 aircraft onto flights from Heathrow to Atlanta, Detroit and New York JFK.
This will result in an increase in seats compared to the current Boeing aircraft used on the routes, and will also introduce the carrier’s latest Delta One cabin on transatlantic services, featuring 34 fully flat seats.
At the same time Virgin and Delta says it will “optimize their schedule between New York JFK and London Heathrow”, with Virgin taking over the operation of one of Delta’s services, meaning Virgin will operate six daily flights, and Delta two.
Meanwhile Virgin Atlantic will add nearly 40,000 seats to flights from Manchester airport to Atlanta and New York, with the carrier’s largest B747 aircraft operating on the routes “on most days” (although the A330 will continue to operate on selected services).
Commenting on the changes Shai Weiss, chief commercial officer for Virgin Atlantic said:
“Together with our joint venture partners Delta Air Lines we’ve created an unrivalled service for customers travelling between the UK and US.
“We’re the only partnership to offer wifi on every single transatlantic flight and fully flat beds with direct aisle access in every business cabin.
“From March 2018 even more customers will have chance to experience Virgin Atlantic flights between London and New York as we add an additional flight, and those travelling on Delta will be able to enjoy their fantastic A330 aircraft for the first time.”
The two airlines will offer a total of 37 peak daily nonstop flights between the UK and US for the summer 2018 schedule, of which 26 will be from Heathrow and 11 from Manchester.
