Virgin Atlantic is flying a new daily service between London Heathrow and Seattle replacing the flight currently operated by joint venture partner Delta Air Lines. The new service, launched on March 26, 2017 is operated by the Boeing 787-9, which adds more than 40,000 extra seats each year between the two cities.
Virgin Atlantic expects to fly around 150,000 customers annually between London Heathrow and Seattle-Tacoma Airport with Delta providing options to connect onto destinations such as Canada and Hawaii.
Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, commented: “Seattle has long been on my list of cities to fly to and I’m delighted to launch this new service. As the home to Microsoft, Amazon and of course Boeing, Seattle’s one of the fastest growing cities in the US and as a mecca for entrepreneurs and innovators, it’s a perfect fit for the Virgin Atlantic brand.”
“We’re really looking forward to expanding our presence on the West Coast as well as introducing the Virgin Atlantic experience to customers flying between the UK and Seattle,” said Craig Kreeger, CEO of Virgin Atlantic. “The launch of this new service really shows the benefits that our joint venture with Delta brings – we’re able to optimise our routes ensuring we have best brand fit and aircraft to suit the destination.”