Virgin Atlantic will be flying daily to Cape Town this winter. From October 29, it will be flying four times a week from London Heathrow increasing to a daily frequency from next February.
Flight VS603 is set to depart Heathrow at 2035 reaching Cape Town at 1035 the next morning. In the return direction flight VS604 departs at 2245 to arrive in London the following day at 0900.
But Hong Kong will be the loser. Virgin has decided to abandon plans to add a second daily service out of Heathrow (see Online news, June 12).
Sources within the airline suggest that Virgin can make more money serving Cape Town during the winter (when airlines can easily fill their seats) than Hong Kong where competition is getting fiercer.
Not only is Virgin having to compete with British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas on the Hong Kong route but from the end of this month it will also be up against Air New Zealand plus local budget carrier Oasis.
For more information go to virgin-atlantic.com.
Report by Alex McWhirter
