Virgin Atlantic abandons China

China is off the map as far as Virgin Atlantic is concerned.

And that includes Hong Kong which went in December 2022.The last round-trip for Virgin Atlantic’s London to Shanghai service will be on 25 October. The airline cited “significant challenges and complexities”.  In plain terms it is not viable.

The closure of Russian airspace has made the London – Shanghai flights longer, and increased costs.

Travelling westbound, the time between the two cities is 14hrs 20mins. Chinese airlines that fly over Russia take just under 12hrs.It is likely that Virgin will announce other uses for the aircraft previously on the Shanghai route.  Shanghai remains being served by British Airways, China Eastern and China Southern from Heathrow, and the new Air China route from Gatwick.

Virgin Atlantic’s decision comes weeks after Qantas said it was pulling out of mainland China leaving Hong Kong the only Chinese destination served nonstop by the Australian airline.

www.virginatlantic.com

Index/Home page
 

READERS' COMMENT

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 200 words maximum

No one has commented yet, why don't you start the ball rolling?