Virgin Atlantic Fully Restores Its U.S. to U.K. Route Network

- UPDATED: February 25, 2022

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As of March 2022, London-based Virgin Atlantic will operate its full, pre-pandemic route network between the U.K. and the U.S.

Flights from London-Heathrow (LHR) to Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (IAD) — Virgin’s remaining 2 suspended destinations — will resume next month.

“The restart of our Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (IAD) services marks an important milestone, as we move [to] recover and welcome our customers back on board to all the destinations they’ve missed,” said Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic.

This news comes soon after the British carrier announced its first new route since the pandemic began, a nonstop flight from Austin (AUS) to London (LHR).

Here’s more information about the latest routes to be re-added to Virgin’s U.S. route network.

Virgin Atlantic Returns to Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (IAD)

Virgin Atlantic will relaunch nonstop service to Seattle (SEA) and Washington, D.C. (IAD) on March 2 and March 5, 2022, respectively, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Virgin's reinstated routes to Seattle and Washington, D.C. — Image Credit: Great Circle Mapper

Passengers on either flight can choose to travel in economy, premium economy, or Upper Class — Virgin’s name for its business class product. Those passengers flying in Upper Class will be able to enjoy drinks onboard at Virgin’s coveted aircraft bar.

Hot Tip: Members of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club loyalty program have tons of ways to earn Virgin Points and redeem Virgin Points for maximum value!

Seattle

The Seattle to London route will operate 4 times per week for most of March on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. Beginning March 28, 2022, and through the rest of the summer schedule, flights will be operated 5 times weekly on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

The route will be operated by the airline’s fuel-efficient and jetlag-busting Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The schedule is as follows:

Depart Seattle (SEA) 3:50 p.m. — Arrive London-Heathrow (LHR) 9:15 a.m. (+1)
Depart London-Heathrow (LHR) 11:50 a.m. — Arrive Seattle (SEA) 1:35 p.m.

Washington, D.C.

Virgin’s reinstated service to the U.S. capital will also operate 5 times per week from March 27, 2022, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

However, from its relaunch date on March 5 through March 26, 2022, the exact schedule and number of weekly flights will vary.

For now, the flights are scheduled with the following times:

Depart Washington, D.C. (IAD) 6:45 p.m. — Arrive London-Heathrow (LHR) 7:10 a.m. (+1)
Depart London-Heathrow (LHR) 11:50 a.m. — Arrive Washington, D.C. (IAD) 3:10 p.m.

This route will be operated by the Airbus A330-300 aircraft, which are quite a bit older than the airline’s 787 Dreamliners.

Final Thoughts

From March 2022, Virgin Atlantic will offer nonstop service to London-Heathrow (LHR) from a total of 11 U.S. cities. With travel rebounding the way it is, it could only be a matter of time before the airline adds more U.S. cities to its route map.