
Virgin Atlantic has today, Wednesday 16 May 2018, announced a series of changes to its transatlantic route network.
As part of these changes, Virgin is to move its route to Las Vegas from Gatwick to Heathrow from Sunday 31 March 2019.
Virgin Atlantic has flown from London Gatwick to Las Vegas since June 2000. At the time it was the only airline to fly direct to Las Vegas from London. That was until BA launched its own route from Heathrow in October 2009. Virgin has also operated limited flights from London Heathrow for the Consumer Electronics Show.
Due to the move the flight will switch from a Boeing 747 to Boeing 787. This means a significant increase in Upper Class seats from 14 to 31 and a decrease in premium economy seats from 66 to 35 and economy seats from 375 to 192. The additional flight at Heathrow will be accommodated by a reduction in frequency on London Heathrow – Los Angeles.
Operating from Heathrow will enable Virgin to compete against BA which offers substantially more premium capacity with its Boeing 747 service from Heathrow.
BA will continue to fly to Las Vegas from Gatwick year-round. Norwegian also flies from Gatwick to Las Vegas on a winter seasonal basis from 5 November 2018.
London Heathrow – Las Vegas
Flight VS155 Depart London Heathrow 12:40 – Arrive Las Vegas McCarran International 15:25
Flight VS156 Depart Las Vegas McCarran Internaional 19:05 – Arrive London Heathrow 12:55
Additional Boston Frequency
Virgin Atlantic has also announced an additional flight to Boston will launch on Sunday 31 March 2019.
It will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft. An additional transatlantic day flight is certainly welcome.
Flight VS157 Depart London Heathrow 20:30 – Arrive Boston Logan International 23:00
Flight VS158 Depart Boston Logan Internaional 19:05 – Arrive London Heathrow 20:10
These flights will be on sale at Virgin Atlantic from Saturday 19 May 2018.
Virgin has also confirmed that winter seasonal flights from London Heathrow to Barbados will return on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Tuesday 11 December 2018 to Saturday 23 February 2019.