This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Virgin Atlantic is set to take its operations to a new continent. The UK carrier announced on Wednesday that it’s going to launch nonstop flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and São Paulo, Brazil (GRU), beginning in 2020.
The new route is Virgin’s first to South America and will feature daily service on board one of the carrier’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Virgin’s Dreamliners feature a three-cabin configuration: 31 Upper Class, 35 Premium and 192 economy.
Virgin’s hoping to capitalize on Brazil as both a business and leisure destination.
“São Paulo represents an incredible opportunity for business, and we’re very excited to be flying to a brand new continent for the first time,” said Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s executive vice president — commercial.
Although an exact launch date hasn’t yet been set for the new route, Virgin did say that it’ll be a daily, year-round service, set to begin sometime in 2020. The LHR-GRU leg is expected to take approximately 11 hours and 55 minutes.
The new route and first foray into South America falls into Virgin’s optimistic growth plan. In February, the carrier announced that it was set to begin nonstop flights from London to Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning September 2019.
Virgin is set to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft later this year. That aircraft will feature the carrier’s latest Upper Class product, though details on what that will look like have yet to be revealed. However, passengers hoping to fly on this route should not expect the new Upper Class product, as it won’t be retrofitted on Dreamliners in the fleet.
Featured image by Alberto Riva / The Points Guy.
Know before you go.
News and deals straight to your inbox every day.
NEW INCREASED OFFER: 60,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,200
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 2X points on all travel and dining, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
