Virgin Atlantic is to start daily flights between London Heathrow Airport and Brazil’s São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport in 2020 – its first route to the South American continent.
The airline will utilise a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft and the new service aims to capitalise on the fast-growing Brazilian economy, which benefits from year-round transatlantic demand.
São Paulo is the commercial capital of Brazil and one of the top 20 global economic cities; it’s the largest city in the Americas (after New York) for multinational companies to have offices, and provides a platform for Virgin Atlantic to broaden its offering to existing corporate customers.
The booming tourism industry complements the lucrative business market – and Virgin Holidays intends to launch a full product offering within Brazil for the first time.
Virgin Atlantic executive vice president commercial, Juha Jarvinen said: “2019 marks the start of a new phase of growth for Virgin Atlantic as we work to become the most loved travel company. São Paulo represents an incredible opportunity for our business, and we’re very excited to be flying to a brand new continent for the first time.
“There are a significant number of corporate customers, and multi-national businesses, located in this Powerhouse of South America who can now enjoy the Virgin Atlantic experience on this busy international route.”
Virgin Atlantic has embarked on an ambitious growth plan, In 2019, Virgin Atlantic it will welcome the first four of 12 Airbus A350-1000 to its fleet which not only boasts a totally redesigned on board experience for customers but will help transform the fleet into one of the quietest and most fuel efficient in the sky.
The airline also looks forward to becoming the founding member of a new, $13 billion transatlantic joint venture with over 300 daily transatlantic flights and 96 non-stop transatlantic routes, alongside Delta, Air France and KLM as well as launching new services from London Heathrow to Las Vegas, Manchester to Los Angeles and London Heathrow to Tel Aviv.
