Virgin Atlantic has pushed back the launch of flights between Heathrow and Sao Paulo to summer 2025.
Readers will remember that the carrier first unveiled plans to fly to Brazil’s largest city back in 2019, only for the route to be delayed and then cancelled as a result of Covid-19.
Then in June last year Virgin announced plans to fly to both Sao Paulo and Bengaluru in 2024, with a launch date of 13 May subsequently being confirmed for the daily service.
This will now not happen however. In a statement provided to Business Traveller the airline would commence in summer 2025, without providing a specific launch date.
Despite the postponement Virgin’s chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen was upbeat, stating:
“We are thrilled to begin flying to Sao Paulo. It’s the gateway to South America and signifies an incredibly exciting opportunity for us.
“We regularly review our network to ensure it’s as strong and efficient as possible. Following a review of our upcoming flying programme for 2024, we will be moving the start of our highly anticipated Sao Paulo services to 2025.
“We remain committed to flying to Brazil and look forward to welcoming our business and leisure travellers onboard.”
The carrier said it would be in contact with any customers affected by the postponement to discuss their options including rebooking or a full refund.
As a reminder both British Airways and LATAM operate flights between London Heathrow and Sao Paulo.
The news follows the upcoming cancellation of Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow-Austin route, with flights ceasing on 7 January, 2024.
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