Virgin Atlantic is moving its London to Las Vegas flights from London Gatwick (LGW/EGKK) to London Heathrow (LHR/EGLL) from March 2019.
The route will also benefit from an upgrade to a state of the art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft instead of the current Boeing 747-400. The upgrade means an increase in “Upper Class” seats from 14 to 31.
The move puts virgin in direct competition with its legacy rival British Airways, a traditional rival on many routes to the USA. It also faces competition from low-cost, long-haul provider Norwegian who flies to Las Vegas in the winter.
Virgin Atlantic recently announced it was offering 3 levels of their economy cabin to compete with low-cost, long-haul carriers like Norwegian who fly to other US destinations however flights from London Heathrow are often seen as premium which is why it is still very much the domain of legacy carriers.
The flights will be:
- VS155 Depart London Heathrow 12:40 – Arrive Las Vegas McCarran International 15:25
- VS156 Depart Las Vegas McCarran International – Arrive London Heathrow 12:55
The change, which takes place on 31st March 2019 will also see an additional London Heathrow to Boston (BOS/KBOS) service on a Sunday. Operated by an Airbus A330 it will operate at the following times:
- VS157 Depart London Heathrow 20:30 – Arrive Boston Logan International 23:00
- VS158 Depart Boston Logan International – Arrive London Heathrow 20:10