Virgin Atlantic has announced its newest long haul destination, launching next spring. It’s an interesting one, and I’m curious what the backstory is…
In this post:
Virgin Atlantic adds London to Riyadh flight
As of March 30, 2025, Virgin Atlantic will launch a new daily flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Riyadh (RUH). The airline will use the Airbus A330-900neo for the route, and it will operate with the following schedule:
VS242 London to Riyadh departing 2:45PM arriving 11:35PM
VS243 Riyadh to London departing 1:25AM arriving 7:00AM
The 3,073-mile flight will be blocked at 6hr50min eastbound and 7hr35min westbound. The flight should become bookable as of September 12, 2024. Keep in mind that Virgin Atlantic has an award seat guarantee, so this should be easy to book with Flying Club points once the flight becomes bookable.
This will be Virgin Atlantic’s first time offering regularly scheduled flights to Saudi Arabia. It’s one of three new routes that Virgin Atlantic is launching as of the spring of 2025, with other destinations including Toronto, Canada, and Accra, Ghana.
Interestingly the timings of the new Accra and Riyadh routes seem to coincide with the timings of the Tel Aviv (TLV) route, which has been suspended for some time. Since Heathrow is slot controlled, I can’t help but wonder if Tel Aviv is getting cut, and is being replaced by these two destinations.
What’s Virgin Atlantic’s motivation for Riyadh service?
Virgin Atlantic is 49% owned by Delta, so the carrier’s biggest focus is on the transatlantic joint venture with Delta and Air France-KLM. For years, the airline has been heavily focused on routes across the North Atlantic, with so many other services being cut. So it’s interesting to see Virgin Atlantic launching a route that goes east, rather than west.
So, why is Virgin Atlantic launching flights to Saudi Arabia? According to Virgin Atlantic:
- The service aims to participate in the growth expected from Saudi Vision 2030; currently annual trade between the US and Saudi Arabia is £17.1 billion, and the goal is to make that number £30 billion by 2030
- Riyadh is in growth mode, and Saudi Arabia is the world’s 20th largest economy
- Virgin Atlantic states that this route is expected to primarily have a Saudi Arabian point of sale, seeing customers visiting the UK, as well as connecting to destinations in North America
- Alongside business travel, the route is expected to serve the “visiting friends and relatives” market, as the UK has seen a fivefold increase in Saudi residents between 2000 and 2018
- Riyadh also has a large presence from SkyTeam partner Saudia, so this will offer onward connections for Virgin Atlantic passengers, to destinations within Saudi Arabia, and to Pakistan and beyond
All of that is fair enough, though I find it interesting that this announcement doesn’t mention anything about Riyadh Air. Riyadh Air is the ambitious airline startup expected to launch operations in 2025, connecting Riyadh to points across the globe.
Delta and Riyadh Air have announced plans for a close partnership, with Delta even expected to commence flights to Riyadh. With Delta owning such a big stake in Virgin Atlantic, I can’t help but think that something similar is going on behind the scenes between the two airlines.
You would think that Riyadh Air’s first long haul route would be to London, given what a major market London is. So Virgin Atlantic also serving this route almost seems like it would add competition. I suppose the overall goal of Riyadh Air, though, is to continue to build up Riyadh as a destination, and other airlines flying there helps with that.
We’ll see how this plays out, but I find it interesting that the press release mentions Saudia, and not Riyadh Air. I have to imagine an additional announcement is imminent…
Bottom line
As of the spring of 2025, Virgin Atlantic will launch a new daily flight between London and Riyadh. This marks Virgin Atlantic’s first regularly scheduled service to Saudi Arabia, and this also coincides with the launch of Riyadh Air (roughly… maybe).
While there’s no mention of Riyadh Air, I imagine that there’s some connection there, given that Delta and Riyadh Air are planning a partnership, and Delta is a big shareholder of Virgin Atlantic, and they usually have close commercial ties.
What do you make of Virgin Atlantic launching Riyadh flights?
Why don't they try Auckland, or Honolulu, or Orange County?
Great to see Virgin Atlantic expanding its routes, especially into Riyadh! This is a fantastic move, considering the growing demand for air travel to and from the Middle East. With more direct flights, it becomes easier for travelers to explore other popular destinations in Asia. Speaking of which, for anyone planning a luxurious getaway in Southeast Asia, our Thailand Luxury Package offers an unforgettable experience. Whether you're flying from Riyadh...
Great to see Virgin Atlantic expanding its routes, especially into Riyadh! This is a fantastic move, considering the growing demand for air travel to and from the Middle East. With more direct flights, it becomes easier for travelers to explore other popular destinations in Asia. Speaking of which, for anyone planning a luxurious getaway in Southeast Asia, our Thailand Luxury Package offers an unforgettable experience. Whether you're flying from Riyadh or elsewhere, Thailand's exquisite beaches, world-class resorts, and rich culture are just a short flight away. Perfect for those seeking both relaxation and adventure.
The only shock is that it took this long for Virgin to grab a lucrative slice of the Saudi market. The UK (actually just London to be precise) is a massive market for Saudi holidaymakers, and has been so for a long time. Apart from Americans and Japanese, Saudis are by far the most prominent group I rub shoulders with in London. And they all have to fly here with some airline (just not with Virgin Atlantic.... until this announcement).
As if you are in London or rub shoulders with any prominent group lolz
Interesting how one of the most progressive airlines with a launch to sao paulo with a LGTBQ friendly promo cancel it and instead go to Saudi Arabia
Yes, the whole airline network planning is focused only about gender.
They go where the money is.
Walter, you're new here. Route planners don't have 'sexual preferences and proclivities' as a deciding factor in selecting a new airline route.
You must be confusing aviation for Hollywood and the television industry. Not being mean. Just being 'straight' with you.
I would be surprised if this wasn’t at least partly demand based. Aside from Saudi nationals visiting, there is a lot of high yield business travel up for grabs with consultants travelling between the two cities regularly. Business class often sells out on BA and their fares can easily exceed £7,000 return.
I’ll be happy to see Virgin fly the route especially on the A330neo!
Was São Paulo indefinitely abandoned now by VS?
PIA is still currently banned from flying to the UK with Saudia picking up this traffic for onward connections it makes sense to add more choice especially with a possible subsidy to sweeten the deal. I expect another new route being considered is Dhaka with a quick stop in Sylhet.
IIRC, PK will (eventually) restart UK flights again. This is old news from a few months ago and I'm not sure PK has restarted flights however I do believe they eventually will.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2509446/pakistan
The rationale can simply be demand. Many saudis go to UK since they can enter without a visa, and there are so many saudi students studying in UK. Saudia offers 4 daily flights LHR-RUH with decent load factors, so maybe virgin is trying to have a piece of the cake.
Saudia will abandon the RUH LHR route when Riyadh air launches, as SV will focus on Jeddah, so there will not be competition within...
The rationale can simply be demand. Many saudis go to UK since they can enter without a visa, and there are so many saudi students studying in UK. Saudia offers 4 daily flights LHR-RUH with decent load factors, so maybe virgin is trying to have a piece of the cake.
Saudia will abandon the RUH LHR route when Riyadh air launches, as SV will focus on Jeddah, so there will not be competition within Skyteam. And we dont know if Riyadh air will be in Skyteam, but considering Tony Douglas, it might not join any alliance. I dont think these plans have anything to do with DL or Riyadh air, but just trying to satisfy demand after so many route cuts
The reason they are adding Riyadh, like so many other airlines that are now adding Riyadh (ITA, Lot Polish) is because they will be paid to fly there under the Saudi Arabia Air Connectivity scheme.
VS already codeshares on LY's LHR service, so asides the product downgrade if taking that flight, not too much of a loss. Part of me is also curious if they'll launch AUH and cooperate with EY, given VS's meager schedule to East and Southeast Asia
VS' codeshare with LY parallels DL's codeshare with LY.
If the Euro flags and DL and UA can ever sustain regularly flights to TLV again, there is much more of a case for a joint venture between DL and its European partners.
"I can’t help but think that something similar is going on behind the scenes between the two airlines." (DL and VS)
completely accurate, Ben.
Part of offsetting weakness and overcapacity in the LHR market is to create connections at LHR which allow DL/VS to flow traffic THROUGH LHR rather than just to /from LHR.
TLV is not a stable market for route planning and operations purposes so it is far better to count on a...
"I can’t help but think that something similar is going on behind the scenes between the two airlines." (DL and VS)
completely accurate, Ben.
Part of offsetting weakness and overcapacity in the LHR market is to create connections at LHR which allow DL/VS to flow traffic THROUGH LHR rather than just to /from LHR.
TLV is not a stable market for route planning and operations purposes so it is far better to count on a limited schedule at best. DL and UA have enough other places to use airplanes and slots, where they are required, but VS does not.
Riyadh Air might still serve LHR but VS' service will ensure that the service will be balanced; the other Middle East airlines disproportionately have more service than their European and US partners or competitors so Saudi Arabia is likely not to make that mistake again.
and it is also possible that Saudi Arabia is giving incentives for foreign carriers to help increase service to RUH which is part of why DL and VS are going to jump in their as soon as they can. A LHR-RUH flight is much less risky to start than one from the US