VIRGIN ATLANTIC COMMENCES TORONTO SERVICE

Virgin Atlantic Airways will today launch daily non-stop scheduled services between London and Toronto using a Boeing 747 aircraft.

Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic, said:

“I’m delighted that Virgin Atlantic is now able to offer flights between London Gatwick and Toronto and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Canadian Government, province of Ontario, City of Toronto and Greater Toronto Airports Authority for all their help in turning this dream into reality. Toronto is the largest city in Canada and I am very excited to be adding this beautiful and diverse destination to our route network.

“Virgin Atlantic’s expansion has been substantial over the past couple of years with the launch of five new routes and increased frequencies to many destinations. Toronto is a landmark route for Virgin Atlantic because it means we now fly to all of the top ten long-haul destinations from the UK.

“Passengers travelling between Canada and London will not only benefit from the increased competition Virgin will provide on this route but also from the award-winning service and products Virgin Atlantic is renowned for.

“Whenever we add new destinations to the Virgin Atlantic network we like to look for other opportunities for other Virgin companies. Virgin Atlantic has proved a great platform for further investment in the past and I’m sure it will in Canada for the future.”

Toronto is the fourth largest long-haul route out of London with 1.3m passengers travelling last year alone. The new Virgin Atlantic route also means a projected annual economic benefit to Toronto of more than C$250 million in increased jobs, trade and tourism.

Equally, in the last year, Virgin has pledged its support for Gatwick with the launch of services to Las Vegas and San Francisco together with a planned increase in business class capacity on existing routes including Miami, Orlando, Boston and Newark to cater for the growing business traffic travelling through Gatwick.

Over the last two years, the airline has added a significant number of new routes to its network including Shanghai, Chicago, Cape Town, Las Vegas and Delhi and increased frequencies to a number of existing destinations. Toronto is Virgin Atlantic’s 21st destination. Virgin Atlantic will commence services to Lagos on 16 July which will bring the total number of destinations served by Virgin Atlantic to 22.

Virgin Atlantic’s sister company Virgin Holidays will be offering a range of programmes to this enormously attractive destination. Virgin Vacations will also be offering Canadian tourists a range of holiday packages from Toronto to London and the rest of the UK.

Notes

Flight VS47 will be operated by a Boeing 747 aircraft and will depart London’s Gatwick Airport at 15.15 arriving in Toronto Lester B Pearson International airport at 18.10 local. The VS48 return flight departs Toronto at 20.30, arriving at Gatwick at 08.30 the following morning. The flight time is approximately eight hours. Fares begin from £347 return (including tax). The service will be operated with a 747-400 and 747-200 aircraft. The 747-400 aircraft will be configured with 28 Upper Class seats, 38 Premium Economy and 373 Economy. The 747-200 will be configured 28 Upper Class seats, 36 Premium Economy and 358 Economy.