UK-based carrier Virgin Atlantic is resuming nonstop flights to Canada next March after more than 10 years away and is deepening its cooperation with WestJet.
The airline intends to launch a new route connecting London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), providing competition for Air Canada, British Airways (BA) and Air Transat on a city-pair basis. Flights will commence on March 30, 2025, operating daily using a mix of Airbus A330-300 and A330-900neo aircraft.
Khalil Lamrabet, chief commercial officer and interim chief operating officer of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, says the service will help to meet the strong demand for travel between London and Toronto.
“In 2023, more than a million passengers flew between the two international cities, making the route our largest long-haul international market,” Lamrabet explains. “This is a big win not only in terms of capacity, but also choice.”
Virgin Atlantic last served the Canadian market from May 2012 until October 2014 when it suspended operations between LHR and Vancouver as part of a network reshuffle. The carrier also briefly offered flights linking London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and YYZ in 2001, but canceled the route after only three months following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
According to OAG Schedules Analyser data, Air Canada and BA currently serve LHR-YYZ three times per day and twice-daily, respectively, while Air Transat offers double-daily flights from YYZ to LGW. In total, there are about 37,000 two-way weekly seats offered between the cities at present, with Air Canada commanding a 52% capacity share.
Virgin Atlantic will be seeking to tap into the strong O&D demand between London and Toronto, which totaled about 751,000 two-way passengers during 2023, marking a year-on-year rise of 11.4%. Additionally, the airline will target traffic between Canada and India.
Looking at the flow of traffic from Toronto to London, Sabre Market Intelligence figures reveal point-to-point traffic was about 336,000 one-way passengers last year, while approximately 180,000 passengers flew to destinations beyond London. Mumbai and New Delhi were the top two onward destinations.
Behind traffic—travelers flying to London via Toronto—amounted to about 93,000 passengers, and bridge traffic—passengers who did not start their journey in Toronto nor end in London—was 42,300 passengers.
Virgin Atlantic says the YYZ to LHR flights will therefore be timed to provide “optimal connectivity” for passengers traveling onward to points in its network, primarily Mumbai and New Delhi. Connections will also be offered to cities including Bengaluru, India; Johannesburg; Lagos, Nigeria; and Tel Aviv.
To further bolster connectivity, the carrier is expanding a codeshare partnership with Canada’s WestJet, slated to launch in October this year. This will see WestJet add its code to Virgin Atlantic-operated flights from LHR to cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi.
The agreement also includes domestic flights in Canada served by WestJet, with benefits for both airlines’ frequent flyers expected to follow in 2025. The move builds on an initial codeshare agreement signed in 2019.
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