Virgin Atlantic is increasing its flights from Manchester by 20% from March next year including the addition of a new direct service to Los Angeles.
There will be double the number of flights to Las Vegas from Manchester from March 2019 and 200 connections to the rest of the USA through the transatlantic airline’s partnership with US carrier Delta Air Lines.
It will be Virgin Atlantic’s biggest ever flying programme from Manchester, with up to six daily departures.
As well as a new route to Los Angeles, there will be an increase in services to both Boston and Las Vegas, meaning Virgin Atlantic will offer up to 14,000 seats a week from the city to the USA and Caribbean.
Virgin is also promoting its partnership with regional carrier Flybe in the UK, which offers connections to its flights in Manchester.
Enhancements to the flying programme, which will commence in Summer 2019, include;
The new Los Angeles route begins on from May 26 while the number of flights from Manchester to Las Vegas will rise from twice a week to four times a week from March 31.
The Manchester-Boston service will increase to three flights per week from May 25 and daily routes to New York and Atlanta will have 455 seats on board.
Shai Weiss, chief commercial officer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “We’ve always said that Manchester is an important base for Virgin Atlantic and this latest expansion really cements that.
“We’re delighted to be able to provide the best possible service to the USA by welcoming a new route to Los Angeles and doubling the amount of flights to Las Vegas. By putting our aircraft on our New York, Atlanta, Boston and now Los Angeles flights, we can really maximise connectivity through our partner Delta, allowing even more customers to take advantage of over 200 US connections.”
Julian Carr, aviation director at Manchester Airport, added: “It’s pleasing to see Virgin Atlantic continuing to grow from Manchester Airport and we are delighted to see the carrier launch a service to Los Angeles.
“The airline’s commitment and growth clearly demonstrates the role we play at connecting the North to key global destinations and the demand to fly direct from Manchester.
“I am sure the extra services and new route will prove incredibly popular with the 22m passengers in our vast catchment area.”
Virgin Atlantic’s destinations from Manchester also include Orlando and Barbados.