After 25 years of operation, Virgin Atlantic has introduced the discontinuation of its providers within the Far East. The final flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Shanghai Pudong (PVG) is scheduled to happen on October 26.
Initially suspended originally of the pandemic, the route was reinstated on Might 1, 2023, earlier than the choice was made to conclude operations. Virgin Atlantic presently operates this route every day utilizing a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Juha Jarvinen, Chief Industrial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, said that the route offered “vital links to one of the UK’s largest trading partners.” Nevertheless, Virgin has now determined that this route not aligns with its enterprise pursuits.
Photograph: Shanghai, China. Courtesy of Li Yang / Unsplash
Shanghai was Virgin Atlantic’s final vacation spot within the Far East, following the termination of routes to Hong Kong (HKG) and Tokyo Narita (NRT) in recent times.
“After careful consideration, we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our London Heathrow to Shanghai services, after proudly serving this Asian hub city since 1999,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson mentioned.
“Our people and customers in Shanghai have been amazing since we first touched down 25 years ago. Since then, we’ve provided important connectivity between the UK and Shanghai for thousands of customers and supported global supply chains through our cargo operations. However, significant challenges and complexities on this route have contributed to the commercial decision to suspend flying to Shanghai.”
One potential motive for this choice is the lower in Chinese language demand for the reason that pandemic, with many airways dealing with comparable challenges.
One other difficulty is Virgin’s drawback in comparison with competitor China Jap, which flies over Russian airspace, decreasing journey time and operational prices. The journey from London to Shanghai with Virgin takes 14 hours and 20 minutes, whereas China Jap completes the route in lower than 12 hours. This distinction impacts gasoline consumption, passenger comfort, and staffing necessities.
Photograph: China Jap, Boeing 777-300ER. Courtesy of John McArthur / Unsplash
KLM CEO Marjan Rintel highlighted this difficulty in a latest interview with journey trade information website Skift: “It’s not a level playing field. It takes another two hours for us, four cockpit crew, and of course, more fuel, which is not the cheapest today. It’s really frustrating and I think it’s harmful for relationships. We are in an international world and an international competition. It’s very hard to have restrictions from Europe or Russia that are not valid for others.”
Virgin Atlantic’s choice follows an analogous transfer by Qantas, the Australian flag service, which can function its final flight between Sydney (SYD) and Shanghai on July 28, citing poor flight demand between Australia and China.
German flag service Lufthansa additionally just lately cited poor demand for flights between Europe and Asia as a motive for decreasing its earnings outlook for 2024, although it has not but determined to cut back or reduce flights.
Photograph: Lufthansa, Airbus A350-900. Courtesy of Munich Airport
Virgin Atlantic, in a press release, acknowledged the frustration this information might convey to its clients and companions: “Our people, customers, and you, our partners, have been amazing since we first touched down at Shanghai in 1999, providing important connectivity between the UK and Shanghai for thousands of customers and supporting global supply chains through our cargo operations. We understand that this news may be disappointing for you and our mutual customers, and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time.”
The airline confirmed that clients with bookings on the Shanghai route from October 26 onwards will probably be supplied a refund.
