The spoils of Jet Airways collapse are not just for domestic carriers, but international airlines as well. British Airways, in just a few days, will launch a new flight to catch more of the traffic between Mumbai and London left behind by Jet Airways. Next up, Qatar Airways wants more flights to India.
Jet Airways was a key partner for the Air France/KLM/Delta/Virgin Atlantic joint venture, bringing traffic from India to their hubs in Paris/Amsterdam/London, from where the other carriers would pick up the transatlantic leg for North America, largely the USA. Given Jet Airways is not operating anymore, everyone has been waiting to see how this JV was going to respond. Delta is launching a new flight between Mumbai and New York JFK, but this was already going to happen before the collapse of Jet Airways.
Virgin Atlantic has been the first one to step up. Virgin Atlantic today announced a return to Mumbai, after four years of not operating flights to this airport. Their new flights between London Heathrow and Mumbai will launch on October 27, 2019, when the Winter Schedule sets in.
The schedule of the new flight is as follows (flight numbers not assigned yet),
VS LHR1015 – 0040(+1) BOM 789 D
VS BOM0255 – 0735LHR 789 D
Virgin Atlantic already operates a 787-9 service to Delhi, and this will be the second attempt for Virgin Atlantic to establish their presence in the Mumbai market. Last time around, they lasted all of two years in Mumbai. The flight will connect traffic to the USA ports as well for Virgin Atlantic and Delta flights.
The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 aircraft comes equipped with the airline’s Upper Class, Premium and Economy Light, Classic and Delight cabins. Virgin Atlantic offers a full-on board service in each of its cabins, providing complimentary food, drink and over 300 hours of entertainment across films, TV and music channels. All of the airline’s 787-9 are fully Wi-Fi enabled, allowing customers to stay connected throughout their flight.
Have you flown the Virgin Atlantic service to India before? What has been your experience?
This will be Virgin’s third attempt into Bombay and they will stay this time around.
It’s the same flight number which they operated from Aug 2012 until early Jan/Feb 2015
VS 354 Lhr-Bom
VS 355 Bom-Lhr
it was a beautiful service.
Used to be an A330, was a great flight and great timing. Vs 354/355