Virgin Atlantic Will Only Be Flying To Five US Destinations By October

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page.

Virgin Atlantic has been fighting for survival for most of the summer and it’s only recently that the airline has been back in the skies and flying back and forth across the Atlantic. A recent schedule update published by the airline confirmed that, for September/October 2020, it will offer customers flights to just five US destinations.

Virgin Atlantic USA Schedule

Atlanta (ATL)

As of 15 September, Virgin Atlantic will start offering customers 3 weekly flights between London Heathrow and Atlanta, and the airline will add a 4th weekly service from 11 October. Here’s what the schedule looks like in September:

VS103 LHR 14:00 – 18:35 ATL (Tue, Fri & Sun)
VS104 ATL 22:35 – 11:55+1 day LHR (Tue, Fri & Sun)

And this is what the schedule looks like from 11 October:

VS103 LHR 10:10 – 14:45 ATL (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
VS104 ATL 20:01 – 09:05+1 day LHR (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)

This service is scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which offers 31 Upper Class (Business Class) seats, 35 Premium Economy Seats, and 192 Economy Class seats.

Los Angeles (LAX)

Virgin Atlantic already offers a daily service between London Heathrow and Los Angeles and this is set to continue for the remainder of the summer season. The schedule is as follows:

VS23 LHR 14:25 – 18:05 LAX (Daily)
VS24 LAX 20:25 – 14:20+1 day LHR (Daily)

The important thing to note about this route is that Virgin operates it with a mix of A350-1000 and 787-9 aircraft and the date on which you fly (and therefore the aircraft in which you fly) can make a very big difference to your onboard experience.

The A350-1000 is home to Virgin Atlantic’s brand new Business Class “suite”…

…while the 787-9 Dreamliner offers the airlines older Business Class product which I don’t like at all (reviewed here). The difference between the two cabins is like night and day so anyone booking a Business Class fare should do what they can to book the A350-1000.

If, on the other hand, you’re booking a Premium Economy fare, my advice reverses. The Virgin Atlantic A350 offers a newer but far narrower seat than the one offered by the 787 Dreamliner (review of Virgin’s older Premium Economy cabin) so anyone booking Virgin Atlantic premium Economy should do their best to avoid the newer A350.

Miami (MIA)

As things stand in August 2020, Virgin Atlantic offers a 3x/week service between London Heathrow and Miami on the following schedule:

VS5 LHR 14:00 – 18:20 MIA (Tue, Thu & Sat)
VS6 MIA 20:40 – 10:10+1 day LHR (Tue, Thu & Sat)

The current schedules show these services remaining constant in September but the Tuesday flights no longer operate between 1 and 19 October. The winter schedule (which kicks in from the end of October) still shows Virgin Atlantic operating two daily flights between London and Miami but this is only because the schedules for winter have yet to be finalized – it’s highly unlikely that Miami will see more than one daily flight from Virgin Atlantic in November 2020.

The flights between London and Miami are scheduled to be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which offers 31 Upper Class seats (of the variety that I really don’t like), 35 Premium Economy Seats (of the variety that I really like), and 192 Economy Class seats. The sweet spot on this aircraft (seat-wise) is the Premium Economy seat.

New York (JFK)

Since the middle of August, Virgin Atlantic has been offering a daily service between London Heathrow and New York JFK but this service is scheduled to be ramped-up significantly by the end of October. From 1 September, this is what the schedule looks like:

VS3 LHR 10:05 – 12:55 JFK (Daily)
VS137 LHR 16:45 – 19:35 JFK (Daily)*
VS25 LHR 20:15 – 23:10 JFK (Tue, Thur & Sat)**

VS26 JFK 08:15 – 20:10 LHR (Wed, Fri & Sun)**
VS4 JFK 19:45 – 07:45+1 day LHR (Daily)
VS138 JFK 22:30 – 10:30+1 day LHR (Daily)*

*From 16 September
**From 26 September – goes weekly from 12 October

Virgin Atlantic operates a mix of A350-1000 and 787-9 aircraft on its London – New York route and the aircraft you choose to fly can make a significant difference to your onboard experience – see the discussion of these aircraft under the Los Angeles route information.

Orlando (MCO)

Orlando returns to the Virgin Atlantic route map in October with the airline restarting services from London Heathrow and Manchester. Both services are set to recommence on 6 October and, as things stand, this is what the schedules look like:

London Heathrow Flights

VS91 LHR 10:40 – 14:55 MCO (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
VS92 MCO 17:35 – 06:50+1 day LHR (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)

Manchester Flights

VS75 MAN 10:00 – 14:00 MCO (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
VS76 MCO 18:15 – 07:20+1 day MAN (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)

Both services are scheduled to be operated by Virgin’s 787-9 Dreamliners so, as I’ve said before, the Premium Economy cabin is the sweet-spot here.

Bottom Line

Virgin Atlantic will operate 6 routes to 5 US destinations by the end of October with the airline significantly increasing services to New York and restarting its services to Atlanta and Orlando. These schedules are subject to change (more so now than ever before) so double check all the information before you go ahead and book…especially if you’re hoping to book a specific aircraft type.