ROUTE LAUNCH NEWS


Virgin Atlantic inaugural: Carrier starts Heathrow-Austin link. Robin Murray reports from Texas Richard Branson


Virgin’s new Austin link to rise to daily next year


V


irgin Atlantic’s new Heathrow-Austin route will become a daily service in April 2023


due to the strong start it has made. The carrier launched with a


four-times-a-week service on May 25, operated by Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Virgin Group founder and Virgin


Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson hailed the launch as the airline’s “most successful ever”. Speaking at a press conference to


mark the inaugural flight to the Texan state capital, he said “tremendous” load factors of about 75% had given the carrier the confidence to increase services to daily from next spring. Juha Järvinen, chief commercial


officer, told Travel Weekly the announcement was a “sign of intent” from the airline. “Normally we would operate a


new route three to four times a week for the first two years to see how it performs, but due to the excellent start it has made we can signal now that it’s going daily,” he said. “It’s important that companies and


entrepreneurs know we’ll be flying daily as it offers them more flexibility, especially as the competition [British Airways] flies daily. It’s a sign of intent.” Mookie Patel, chief business and


finance officer at Austin airport, said: “This new partnership is reflective of our airport’s continued recovery from the impact of the pandemic.


“This type of investment in our


airport – offering more nonstop services to sought-after destinations such as London – is important and powerful for our community.” Austin is the first new route Virgin


Atlantic has launched to the US since 2017 and becomes the airline’s 11th US destination from the UK.


Richard Branson and cabin crew in Texas


Branson: Virgin Atlantic is back stronger than ever


Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson said the airline is “back stronger than ever” as he celebrated the new Austin route. Speaking during the launch


event, the Virgin Group founder credited the carrier’s survival in large part to its staff. “It’s 38 years since we started


with one plane and people thought it would be impossible to compete with the giants,” he said. “But because the team at Virgin


got the product right and because we’ve got fantastic people working for Virgin, we’re still going strong. “There were a number of people


Austin is ‘perfect fit’ and average ticket value ‘20% higher’


Virgin Atlantic’s Lee Haslett described Austin as the “perfect brand fit” for the carrier as he said the “underserved” route was performing well for both leisure and corporate sales. The global sales vice-president


said the pandemic gave the airline a chance to “redefine” its network


travelweekly.co.uk


and fleet plans, adding that Austin had been “on our radar for a while”. “The entrepreneurial culture


in Austin, and its heritage, means it’s the perfect brand fit for Virgin Atlantic,” he said. “It’s the fourth fastest-growing


city in the US from a GDP perspective and there are 116 people


moving there per day. Companies such as Dell, Amazon and Facebook have also moved there.” Haslett said the average ticket


value for Austin was 20% higher than the rest of Virgin Atlantic’s US network because it was a “really strong product” for both leisure and corporate travel.


who wrote us off during Covid but we’re back stronger than ever and growing again, and that was without the government monies most airlines managed to get.” Branson said he was “looking


forward” to providing a stronger connection between Austin and London, describing the US city as a “fantastic addition” to the network. He added it was “incredible”


how Virgin Atlantic had managed to get the majority of its flights away, with a completion rate of 99.6% over Easter.


16 JUNE 2022 13


Haslett added Austin is


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