Virgin Atlantic is to reintroduce services to Seattle and Washington DC, as well as boosting frequencies on other US routes.
The carrier said that “renewed customer confidence and a strong uptick in bookings” had led it to reinstate its full portfolio of US destinations for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Flights to Seattle will operate five-times-weekly from March 2 using a B787-9 aircraft, while Virgin’s Heathrow-Washington DC route will also be served with five flights per week from March 5, using an Airbus A330.
Meanwhile a third daily service to Los Angeles will commence in April, as well as additional frequencies to Atlanta, New York and San Francisco.
Last month Virgin announced plans to launch flights between Heathrow and Austin from May 25, the carrier’s first new US route since 2015.
Commenting on the news Juha Jarvinen, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said:
“Following the relaxation of travel restrictions, we’ve seen demand increase to many of our global destinations, but particularly to our heartland in the USA. Our customers can’t wait to return.
“The restart of our Seattle and Washington DC services mark an important milestone, as we move into recovery and welcome our customers back on board to all the destinations they’ve missed.
“We’re simply not Virgin without the Atlantic and our growing transatlantic portfolio demonstrates why we’re the airline of choice to the USA.”
Last week rival UK carrier British Airways announced plans for a third daily flight between New York Newark and London Heathrow, with a daytime London-bound service launching on June 6.
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