Routes
Virgin Atlantic spokesperson. “We have had to be flexible and agile, changing our business model to jump on opportunities in order to survive.” In the early days of the pandemic, the closure of the transatlantic corridor was little contested. However, as we moved through 2021, the policy started to ruffle feathers on both sides of the Atlantic – especially as Europe reopened its own borders to US citizens.
European leaders pointed to their high vaccination and low infection rates, both of which compared favourably with many countries the US hadn’t banned. At the same time, the US travel industry was feeling the pinch. According to an estimate from the US Travel Association trade group, the US restrictions would have cost the country’s economy $325bn if they’d run until the end of 2021.
In response to renewed appetite for international travel, Virgin Atlantic launched a number of new routes in the second half of 2021.
association founded by the EU’s five largest carriers that now represents 16 leading airline groups as well as global manufacturers. “We expect a progressive recovery of the transatlantic market, with our members Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Group, IAG, Finnair and Icelandair all providing flights to the US.”
Although airlines have found inventive ways to pull through this period, the closure of the EU-US travel corridor represented an undeniably huge blow to the sector. Before the pandemic, transatlantic flights were worth around £9bn in revenue to airlines on both sides of the Atlantic. Since then, they have dropped to around one-quarter of their normal volumes.
This has been particularly challenging for the likes of British Airways, which has long placed transatlantic flights at the cornerstone of its business model. Its London Heathrow to New York JFK service – once the world’s only billion-dollar route – fell from glory as business travel all but ground to a halt.
Friction over less travel Virgin Atlantic struggled too. Pre-pandemic, long-haul flights to the US accounted for 70% of its seating capacity. As the world locked down, the airline was forced to halt its scheduled passenger flying for three months and switch to a freight-only operation.
$9bn The value of
transatlantic flights to airlines on both sides of the Atlantic before the pandemic.
Financial Times 36
Later in the pandemic, with holidaymaking out, airlines shifted their focus towards passengers looking to visit friends and family. Virgin Atlantic responded by opening three new routes to Pakistan, tapping into demand from the UK’s south Asian diaspora.
“This launch was the first time we have added three routes to a completely new country, demonstrating the need to be bold with our network and schedule plans during the pandemic,” says a
Heathrow Airport, the UK’s busiest, called upon the government to step up negotiations. The airport has been badly hit by the drop in air travel, having haemorrhaged around £3bn since the start of the pandemic. The US travel ban has been an important piece of that puzzle. Between April 2020 and March 2021, the number of Heathrow passengers going to or from North America dropped by 95.5%. “With fully vaccinated US visitors now able to travel to the UK without the need to quarantine, the joint UK/US travel taskforce must capitalise on the UK’s world-leading vaccine rollout and reach a reciprocal agreement for fully vaccinated UK travellers,” said an airport spokesperson in July 2021.
Back up and operating
The easing of restrictions, then, was met with relief on all sides. When the reopening was announced in September, airlines witnessed an unprecedented surge of customer demand.
“Following the announcement of the much- anticipated reopening of the transatlantic corridor, bookings to the US increased by over 600% overnight, compared with the same time the previous week,” says the Virgin Atlantic spokesperson. “New York had the most bookings of any US city overnight. Leisure destinations were also performing well, suggesting holidaymakers are ready for a much- needed break, with Orlando flights up 11-fold, Miami ninefold and Las Vegas eightfold.”
Anticipating a renewed appetite for long-haul travel, the carrier has launched a number of Caribbean routes, including Heathrow to the Bahamas and Edinburgh Airport to Barbados. The latter will be Scotland’s only direct gateway to the Caribbean, and marks the first time Virgin Atlantic has flown international flights from the Scottish capital. “We wanted to demonstrate our continued commitment to the Caribbean region, and to meet
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