Virgin Atlantic Airways is set to launch flights on the competitive London-Dubai route, putting pressure on rivals British Airways and Emirates.
Virgin launches its Heathrow-Dubai flight on March 27 2006 with four flights per week, rising to five on May 1 and going daily on June 1.
The Dubai flight departs Heathrow at 8.10pm arriving in Dubai at 6.20am. The return flight leaves Dubai at 3pm and arrives in Heathrow at 7.30pm.
Virgin faces competition from a number of carriers on the London-Dubai routes including British Airways, Royal Brunei, Bangladesh Airlines, and Emirates.
The service will be operated by an Airbus A340 in a three-class configuration and will include the lie-flat Upper Class Suites. Upper Class fares start at £1,185, Premium at £785.60 return, and Economy Class fares start from £375 return, although the carrier says it will be offering promotional fares to Dubai later in the year.
Report by Ginny McGrath
