DALLAS — Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS) just announced additional flights from London (LHR) to New York (JFK) and Boston (BOS) for next summer.

The UK-based airline is adding a seventh daily flight between JFK and LHR. With its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines (DL), VS' 10 daily flights between JFK and LHR mark an 11% increase in service compared to summer 2023.

Further strengthening its East Coast service to London, VS adds a second daily flight between BOS and LHR. Counting DL's daily service, Boston travelers will have three flights from which to choose. VS began code sharing with DL in May 2014.

Virgin's additional transatlantic flights will use Airbus A350-1000 and A330-900 aircraft, increasing the number of upper and premium seats by 23%. Upper-class passengers may book the A330neo innovative Retreat Suite, comprising two spacious exclusive suites at the front of the upper-class cabin.

Increased Connectivity

With the increased East Coast-London service, passengers will have more opportunities to connect to cities throughout the US as well as to destinations around the world from LHR, including Bengaluru (BLR), Delhi (DEL), Mumbai (BOM), Johannesburg (HLR) and Shanghai (SHA).

Commenting on Virgin Atlantic's increased service, Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We’re excited to announce additional flying to our heartland in the USA for summer 2024. By utilizing our brand new A350 and A339 aircraft, our passengers can travel in style with Virgin Atlantic, as we commit to operating the routes that our customers love to fly."

London-New York Competition

The two biggest competitors in London-to-New York flights in 2023 are British Airways (BA) and DL. These two airlines, along with other major carriers like American Airlines (AA), United Airlines (UA), and VS, operate numerous flights between the two cities, making it a highly competitive market.

We'll compare BA and VS passenger numbers from London Heathrow Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport and Boston Logan International Airport for December 2023 using Cirium Diio data according to the aircraft family and type.

British Airways

• Boeing 777 Aircraft Family:
  • Boeing 777: BA operates 334 flights with a total of 79,108 seats and 269,801,210 Available Seat Miles (ASMs).
  • Boeing 777-300ER: BA operates 140 flights with a total of 35,560 seats and 122,753,120 ASMs.
• Boeing 787 Aircraft Family:
  • Boeing 787-10: BA operates 81 flights with a total of 20,736 seats and 70,671,104 ASMs.
  • Boeing 787-9: BA operates 59 flights with a total of 12,744 seats and 41,609,160 ASMs.
  • Boeing 787-8: BA operates 8 flights with a total of 1,712 seats and 5,589,680 ASMs.

Virgin Atlantic

• A330 Aircraft Family:
  • A330-900: VS operates 152 flights with a total of 39,824 seats and 134,826,772 ASMs.
  • A330-300: VS operates 62 flights with a total of 16,368 seats and 56,107,392 ASMs.
• A350 Aircraft Family:
  • A350-1000: VS operates 126 flights with a total of 42,210 seats and 145,708,920 ASMs.
• Boeing 787 Aircraft Family:
  • Boeing 787-9: VS operates 94 flights with a total of 24,252 seats and 83,717,904 ASMs.

As per the above figures, BA has 628 scheduled flights, while VS has 434 this month, with the Boeing 777 taking the lead for the former and the A330-900 for the latter.

Featured image: G-VPQP Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1041 A35K at JFK. Photo: Francesco Cecchetti/Airways