Major news for Virgin Atlantic and UK domestic travellers has just been announced.
The airline has won all of the slots it bid for at London Heathrow, following the merger of bmi British Midland into the IAG group earlier this year.
The merger meant that British Airways (owned by IAG) had to surrender a lot of bmi’s slots at the airport so as to avoid creating a monopoly at Heathrow. Various airlines naturally bid for them, however it is Virgin Atlantic who has secured these slots and plans to use them to offer domestic flights within the UK.
Virgin had already announced it was to introduce 3x daily flights between Manchester and London Heathrow from March 2013, using Airbus A319 aircraft, and going head-to-head with British Airways, who already operate on the route.
However, with the addition of these slots, Virgin plans to link Heathrow with Aberdeen and Edinburgh also. It has also said it plans to significantly increase its domestic offerings from next year.
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Would be nice to see Sir Richard re-introduce a couple of daily rotations on the LHR – Durham Tees Valley route. BMI operated it successfuly for 40 years, only pulling out due to slot issues!!!!
Totally agree Stephen! The area is crying out for a London route.
One of my customers would lika a Teeside route when he comes to London he as to fly from Newcastle he only lives 6 miles from the airport!
I would love it if virgin flew to bristol from heathrow
Incorrect information, the aircraft we will be flying will be the A320 from Aer Lingus. Assessment day for them on Monday 🙂