Virgin Atlantic will continue its expansion into India with the introduction of a second direct daily service between London and Mumbai later this year.
The carrier’s second daily service to India’s Bollywood capital will take off from Heathrow on 27 October, with tickets going on sale next week on Wednesday (10 April).
Virgin said the new frequency, which will be operated by an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, would complement its twice-daily Delhi service and daily Benglaru flight, both of which operate from Heathrow.
The new daily service will depart Heathrow at 11.15am, arriving Mumbai International at 1.55am local time (+1). The return flight will depart Mumbai at 4.10am local time, arriving in London at 8.55am.
Virgin will offer a three-class cabin on the route – upper, premium and economy.
“Doubling our Mumbai services reaffirms our strong commitment [to India] and will allow our customers to travel seamlessly throughout India and beyond," said chief Virgin Atlantic commercial officer Juha Jarvinen.
Virgin Atlantic passengers will be able to connect seamlessly between India and North America via London, offering – along with its transatlantic joint venture partner Delta Air Lines – onward connections to New York JFK, San Francisco and Seattle.
Indian regional connections, meanwhile, will be available through strategic partner IndiGo to 36 destinations, including Ahmedabad, Goa and Hyderabad.
"There is a huge opportunity for us in India," Jarvinen added. "It has a dynamic, fast-growing economy and we’re anticipating a huge growth in demand for international travel from the region."
Next year, Virgin Atlantic will offer more than one million seats to the country – a 350% increase on 2019 levels – cementing India as its largest area of market growth outside the US.