Virgin Atlantic and Los Angeles Tourism held a celebration after beating 2019 levels for the number of weekly direct flights from Heathrow.
A total of 21 weekly flights are now being offered to Los Angeles International Airport, representing 5,957 seats, which is up by 18% compared with four years ago.
To celebrate the achievement, Los Angeles Tourism supplied themed ice cream to staff at Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Atlantic Holidays’ head office in Crawley on Thursday, August 24.
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Francine Sheridan, Los Angeles Tourism’s regional vice-president for Europe and the Middle East, described the growth in flights as “great” for travel agents.
She added that there are now more opportunities for people to visit LA to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hollywood Sign this year.
Virgin Atlantic’s vice-president of global sales, Rachel Wilton, said: “Los Angeles has always been a popular route among our customers, and we at Virgin Atlantic and our partners at Delta Air Lines are thrilled with the increased services to the destination, with demand returning and surpassing pre-pandemic levels.”
Los Angeles Tourism said the UK and Ireland was the largest overseas market for visitors in 2022, with a total of 300,000 making the trip.
Forecasts predict the figure will hit 330,000 this year, with next year expected to beat 2019 levels.
Photo: Virgin Atlantic product executives Alice Tagliavini and Hera Yousaf enjoy an ice cream courtesy of Los Angeles Tourism.