Virgin Atlantic has announced the addition of Riyadh to its network and signed a MoU with Riyadh Air.
Virgin Atlantic to Riyadh
Starting 30th March 2025, Virgin Atlantic will offer a daily service between London Heathrow (LHR) and Riyadh (RUH) with the following schedule:
- London Heathrow-Riyadh
- Departure time: 14:45
- Arrival time: 23:35
- Flight time: 6 hours and 50 minutes
- Flight number: VS242
- Riyadh-London Heathrow
- Departure time: 01:25
- Arrival time: 07:00
- Flight time: 7 hours and 35 minutes
- Flight number: VS243
These flights will be operated by the airline’s Airbus A330-900neo aircraft 32 Upper Class seats (Business Class seats), 46 Premium Economy seats and 184 standard Economy Class seats.
The London Heathrow-based carrier says that this service “aims to participate in the growth expected from Saudi Vision 2030”. In 2023, annual trade between the UK and Saudi Arabia was worth £17.1 billion with an ambition to reach £30 billion of trade by 2030. Accordingly, air travel between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia is forecast to grow 24% between 2019-2035.
Virgin Atlantic will offer 30 tonnes of cargo capacity on each flight for companies looking to export and import goods, such as fresh produce and specialised goods, including pharmaceuticals, between Riyadh and prime markets in the United Kingdom and United States.
Riyadh is in growth mode, with an expanded downtown business district, F1 circuit, theme park, shopping and entertainment complexes. The city is also the perfect base to explore cultural attractions across this vast country including the UNESCO World Heritage sites of historical Jeddah, the gateway to Mecca, Al Ula, Al Ahsa, and the stunning Rock Art in Hima.
Saudi Arabia is world’s 20th largest economy, the largest in the Middle East with a population of 37 million. Virgin Atlantic says that “the market is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK, as well as seamlessly connecting to twelve destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Boston and Detroit”.
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The airline is also targeting Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) traffic, which has seen a fivefold increase in Saudis living in the UK between 2000 and 2018.
Riyadh is the main hub for Saudia, Virgin Atlantic’s SkyTeam partner. The partnership will offer onward connections to Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, with further destinations within Saudi Arabia and to Bangladesh and China to follow as the airline continues to grow its strategic partnership with Saudia. Flying Club members will earn and redeem Virgin Points across Saudia’s flying programme, alongside SkyTeam partners. All Saudia operated flights from London Heathrow and Manchester to Riyadh and Jeddah are already marketed by Virgin Atlantic, and on sale across all sales channels, offering multi-daily departures between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
MoU with Riyadh Air
Virgin Atlantic and Riyadh Air have signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding. The airlines say that this agreement “lays the foundations for a long-term relationship”, that includes interline and codeshare connectivity, as well as a potential deeper partnership which could encompass loyalty benefits.
Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic recently announced that it will launch a second daily flight to Mumbai.
Featured image by Planespotters.net/Rovanperä
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