VIRGINAtlantic has set an August 11 launch date for daily Heathrow-Chicago flights.
However, the start will not be confirmed until next month when the airline expects a decision from the US Department of Transportation.
United Airlines has complained to the US DoT that Virgin has not applied for the route through proper channels and wants the carrier to wait until October to launch flights (Travel Weekly April 12).
Virgin claims it is allowed to start flights sooner as British Airways has already carried 600,000 one-way passengers in consecutive years, paving the way for a new UK carrier on the route under an expanded bilateral deal.
n US DoT secretary Rodney Slater is due to meet deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in Washington tomorrow to try to restart open-skies talks.
Topics for discussion will include the licence applications from Virgin and AmericanAirlines .