Virgin Atlantic Joins Worldwide by easyJet Partner Network
Virgin Atlantic is the latest airline to join Worldwide by easyJet program, which allows travelers to plan itineraries on both airlines through a single booking. The partnership was announced Tuesday.
Where travel convenience is involved, London Gatwick (LGW)-based easyJet clearly believes in the buddy system. Virgin joins Norwegian, WestJet, Thomas Cook Airlines, Corsair, La Compagnie, Aurigny and Loganair in the Worldwide by easyJet network, which launched in 2017. Worldwide is easyJet's alternative to overextending its financial resources to purchase planes and launch long-haul routes of its own. The service teamed up with inaugural partners Norwegian Air and WestJet to combine international flights from those airlines with easyJet's own European short-haul routes in a single booking.
The concept has taken off, and easyJet's network now boasts more than half a dozen partner airlines, reaching more than 100 destinations in far-flung locales. easyJet has also expanded its connection hubs to Berlin Tegel (TXL), Venice Marco Polo (VCE), Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS), Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) and Orly (ORY) and Edinburgh (EDI).
Singapore Airlines is easyJet's next confirmed partnership, which will allow European travelers to access Southeast Asia via Milan (MXP). easyJet is also negotiating with additional carriers in the Middle East and Asia.
Each Virgin/easyJet partner itinerary will include a 2.5-hour "minimum connection time," giving passengers a little more wiggle room when trying to navigate connections on different airlines. Under specific circumstances, travelers will also have the option to transfer to the next available flight, although neither airline will hold flights for tardy connections.
