Virgin Atlantic’s India Expansion

Virgin Atlantic made its India debut in July 2000 when the airline launched its flight to New Delhi. Back then, Virgin Atlantic was a boutique airline fuelled by the ambitions of a maverick entrepreneur, Sir Richard Branson. A lot has changed since then. Today, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group holds just 20 per cent stake in the airline with Delta Air Lines, the world’s most profitable airline, being the largest shareholder with 49 per cent along with Air France-KLM holding 31 per cent. The airline, till date, continues to fly to New Delhi daily. The route has stood the test of time and completes its twentieth anniversary next year. That is an achievement for an airline of its size and credit should be given to teams in India and the world over, who have made this route a success. On November 20 this year, Virgin Atlantic announced that the airline was going to double its flights to New Delhi starting Summer 2020. The second daily service to New Delhi will depart London in the morning and will offer customers a choice of departures at both ends.

This joint venture helps Virgin Atlantic flights to India as they have sister airlines who will help market these flights to their customers. Currently from New Delhi, the airline only offers seamless connections to two destinations in the US i.e. Boston and New York – JFK. These are made possible by the late evening departures to both the cities from London. Virgin Atlantic has not had the same success with its flights to, Mumbai, the financial capital of India, as it has with its flights to New Delhi.