Virgin Atlantic is launching three new routes next summer. The UK based carrier will launch flights from its London-Heathrow (LHR) hub to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Accra, Ghana, and Toronto, Canada. The new routes are all scheduled to launch in Summer 2025.
Virgin Atlantic Launches a New Route to Riyadh
Virgin Atlantic is launching daily service to King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is world’s 20th largest economy and the largest in the Middle East. The market is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK, as well as connecting to twelve destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Boston and Detroit.
In addition to a focus on business travellers, the route will serve the ‘visiting friends and relatives’ (VFR) market. The Saudi population in the United Kingdom has grown 5x since 2000, which should provide a decent amount of feed for the new route.
Flights between Riyadh and London will operate daily using Airbus A330neo aircraft. The planes, the newest in Virgin Atlantic’s fleet, will begin service omn March 30th, 2025.
King Khalid International Airport is also home to the airline’s SkyTeam partner, Saudia. The alliance partner will allow onward connections to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi initially, with further destinations within Saudi Arabia and to Bangladesh and China to follow as the airline continues to grow its strategic partnership with Saudia.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can earn and redeem Virgin Points across Saudia’s flying program. All Saudia operated flights from London Heathrow (LHR) and Manchester (MAN) to Riyadh (RUH) and Jeddah (JED) are already marketed by Virgin Atlantic, offering multi-daily departures between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The flights will operate on the following schedule and are set to go on sale September 12th:
London-Heathrow (LHR) – Riyadh (RUH)
VS 242 Departs: 2:45p Arrives: 11:35p
Riyadh (RUH) – London-Heathrow (LHR)
VS 243 Departs: 1:25a Arrives: 7:00a
Accra and Toronto Return To Virgin’s Route Map
In addition to the new route between London and Riyadh, Virgin Atlantic is returning to two previously served destinations. The carrier will re-launch flights between London and Kotoka International Airport (ACC) in the nation’s capital, Accra, starting in May 2025.
Daily service will operate on Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft on May 1st, 2025. The 787-9 featured the airline’s Upper Class, Premium and Economy cabins, as well as an onboard bar. According to the airline, roughly 10% of passengers are expected to connect onward to the carriers London-New York-JFK service.
The flight between London and Accra will operate on the following schedule:
London-Heathrow (LHR) – Accra (ACC)
VS 403 Departs: 10:30p Arrives: 5:00a (+1)
Accra (ACC) – London-Heathrow (LHR)
VS 404 Departs: 9:15a Arrives: 5:25p
Toronto also makes its return to Virgin Atlantic’s route map, marking the carrier’s return to Canada. The airline’s first route to the country in more than a decade will commence on March 30th, 2025, with direct flights between London Heathrow (LHR) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ). The new service will operate on a mix of Airbus A330-300 and A330neo aircraft.
The Toronto route is part of the carrier’s transatlantic joint venture with Air France, Delta and KLM. The route is also operating in partnership with Canadian airline, Westjet and will operate on the following schedule:
London-Heathrow (LHR) – Toronto (YYZ)
VS 147 Departs: 5:10p Arrives: 8:30p
Toronto (YYZ) – London-Heathrow (LHR)
VS 148 Departs: 8:20p Arrives: 10:30a (+1)
Either Virgin Atlantic has a typo in its press release or, the plane will spend roughly 24 hours on the ground in Toronto.
Virgin Atlantic Adding New Routes
It’s great seeing Virgin Atlantic add these new routes to its network. In recent months, we’ve seen the carrier cut service to a variety of destinations including Austin (AUS) and Shanghai (PVG) so it is great to see them expanding once again.
Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Commercial Officer, said this about the new routes:
“Riyadh and Accra join Toronto as new routes for summer flying in 2025 and we see huge opportunities to connect friends, relatives and businesses with our new services. We’re also delighted to build on our codeshare with SkyTeam partner Saudia, further strengthening connectivity in the region, and beyond, and bringing new benefits to our loyal customers.”
Summary
Virgin Atlantic is expanding its route network once again with new flights to Riyadh, Accra, and Toronto. The carrier will begin daily service between London Heathrow and the three new destinations beginning in 2025. All flights are scheduled to go on sale September 12th.
