DALLAS — As of October 26, 2024, Virgin Atlantic (VS) will end its daily route between London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG).
The route, the last destination in the Far East for VS after axing its Hong Kong and Tokyo Narita routes, is operated by a Boeing 787-9 and has the following schedule:
- VS250: London to Shanghai departs at 12:35 PM, arriving at 8:20 AM the next day.
- VS251: Shanghai to London departs at 11:10 AM, arriving at 6:50 PM.
The airline launched the LHR-PVG route in 1999. Competitors in this market include British Airways (BA) and China Eastern Airlines (MU).
Reasons for the Discontinuation
According to Ben Schlappig from onemileatatime.com, several factors contribute to this decision, including the disadvantage VS faces compared to MUcc due to the longer flight path avoiding Russian airspace and the sluggish return of demand for travel to China post-pandemic.
Schlappig also argues that a major issue with VS' business model is that being a completely long-haul carrier isn't very profitable since you need feeder traffic.
In the end, the British carrier seems to depend more and more on Delta Air Lines' (DL) network, almost to the point of of being considered a subsidiary of the American giant. Do you agree?
Find out more in our latest issue. Explore all the subscriptions plans that Airways has for you. From thrilling stories to insights into the commercial aviation industry. We are a global review of commercial flight.
Purchase Exploring Airline History Volume I
David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.
Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!