Easyjet has signed up Virgin Atlantic as the latest partner for its Worldwide by Easyjet connections programme.
The move means customers can now connect between the two carriers at Gatwick airport, allowing Easyjet passengers to connect onto long-haul services to destinations including Orlando, Las Vegas, Antigua and St Lucia.
The so-called self-connect service allows Easyjet customers to book connections and forward flights on easyjet.com, with the carrier stressing that the concept “does not impact Easyjet’s punctuality, its asset utilisation or operating model”.
Customers are subject to a two hours 30 minutes minimum connecting time, and flights are not held for connecting passengers – should a passenger miss a connecting flight they will be transferred to the next available service.
Easyjet says that the service has been “consistently growing”, with over 4,000 unique “O&Ds” (Origin and Destination) bookings having been made in combination with partner airlines so far.
Worldwide by Easyjet was launched in 2017 with Norwegian and Westjet at Gatwick, and has since added partners including Corsair, La Compagnie, Loganair, Thomas Cook and most recently Singapore Airlines.
Commenting on the news Craig Kreeger, CEO at Virgin Atlantic said:
“Virgin Atlantic is committed to working with the best possible global partners, to offer industry leading choice and connections for our customers. Easyjet’s unbeatable Gatwick network, combined with a shared customer centric ethos, makes them the ideal fit for us.
“We’re delighted that customers across the UK and Europe will be able to enjoy more choice when connecting onto our flights through Gatwick and we look forward to welcoming them on board very soon.”
