Richard Branson's Virgin to cash in on Kingfisher woes too

Virgin Atlantic, which is aggressively shoring up its market share, is planning to resume daily direct flights between Mumbai and London - three years after it pulled out amid a global economic slowdown- at a time when others cutting down their flights in India or pulling out altogether.

While Virgin is cashing in on profitable routes to and from India, it is not interested in investing in India’s carriers due to the high operating costs and tough working conditions.

Currently Virgin flies Delhi-London and is launching Mumbai flight this month end- six months after Kingfisher Airlines suspended its London flights from Delhi and Mumbai, thereby sucking capacity from the market.

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Virgin is not only connecting Mumbai to London but its daily flights will also offer easy connectivity from London Heathrow to US markets of New York, Boston, Chicago and Washington, the airline said.

According to the airline, since its departure from Mumbai, the number of people who have flown between London Heathrow and Mumbai has grown by nine percent to more than one million passengers. Says a report in the Business Standard , “Mumbai-London is the second busiest international route from Mumbai and the 12th busiest route from London. Currently, Air India, British Airways and Jet Airways fly five times daily between the cities.”

The airline will utilise one of its new Airbus A330-300s on the route which will be configured in a three class arrangement with seating for 30 passengers in Upper Class, 48 in Premium Economy and 185 in Economy. The aircraft will also be fitted with the airline’s new upgraded Upper Class Dreamsuite providing an enhanced offering to premium passengers.

“Virgin Atlantic is proud to be flying to Mumbai again, linking this wonderful city to our key destinations of London, New York, Boston and Washington. India’s phenomenal growth continues to drive travel to the UK and the USA,” airline President Richard Branson said in a statement.