Virgin Atlantic Is Launching a New Heathrow to Vegas Flight in 2019
Virgin Atlantic shared on Wednesday the details of some additions and changes to its route map. First up, the airline shared that it's going to start nonstop flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and Las Vegas (LAS) beginning March 31, 2019, with tickets available for sale beginning Saturday, May 19, 2018.
The new route will be operated by three-class Boeing 787-9s offering 31 Upper Class seats, 35 Premium Economy seats and 192 economy seats. Virgin already serves Las Vegas, but from London's Gatwick Airport (LGW) with a Boeing 747.
The new Heathrow service will replace — not supplement — the airline's existing Gatwick flight. The move to the 789 also means an increase in premium seats on the route. "We've seen a growing demand from corporate travelers [for flights to Las Vegas], as Vegas is one of the largest conference centers in the world," said Jessica Cross Brown, a spokesperson for Virgin Atlantic, who explained that the airline successfully trialed the route for tech professionals headed to CES — a popular technology trade show hosted annually in Vegas — in 2017.
In addition to the new Heathrow - Las Vegas service, the airline is adding a second daily flight between Boston (BOS) and London (LHR) beginning on March 31, 2019, which will be operated by an Airbus A330-300. Finally, Virgin will add twice-weekly seasonal nonstop flights from LHR to Barbados (BGI) — complementing its existing nonstop service from LGW. The flights will operate between December 11, 2018, and February 19, 2019 — the peak season for travel to the Caribbean.
The news of the three new routes follows Virgin's upcoming second daily service to Johannesburg, South Africa, which begins in October of this year.