SEATTLE, May 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- London calls,
and joint venture partners Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and Virgin
Atlantic are answering by adding more than 50 daily seats between
Seattle and London as well as adding service from
Portland International Airport to
London-Heathrow.
Beginning March 26, 2017, Virgin
Atlantic will fly between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and
London-Heathrow, replacing the flight currently
operated by Delta. This marks Virgin Atlantic's first flight in
Seattle, offering customers a
greater number of seats on its most fuel-efficient aircraft – a
Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. With this change, customers will have the
opportunity to enjoy Virgin Atlantic's innovative service,
including its Premium Economy product featuring a new Wander
Wall for snacks and socializing, chauffer limo service, its iconic
bar and fully flat-bed seats for Upper Class customers, and a
uniquely British food and beverage service. Upon landing into
London-Heathrow T3, Upper Class customers can refresh
and refuel in Virgin Atlantic's Revivals Lounge before heading to
London for meetings. Prior to
departure, select customers can work, relax, and dine in Virgin
Atlantic's award-winning Clubhouse.*
Virgin Atlantic's 787-9 Dreamliner has 31 Upper Class, 35
Premium Economy and 198 Economy seats.
"We are looking forward to broadening our presence on the West
Coast of America by introducing the Virgin Atlantic experience to
customers in Seattle," said Erik
Varwijk, Virgin Atlantic's Executive Vice President of Commercial.
"It is because of our joint venture with Delta that we have been
able to optimize our routes and touch down in Seattle next summer using our newest, most
fuel efficient Boeing 787-9 aircraft with additional capacity. In
less than a year, customers flying between the Pacific Northwest of
the U.S. and the U.K. can delight in all that Virgin Atlantic has
to offer – from our Premium Economy cabin to our airport Clubhouses
and uniquely British onboard service."
"In more than two years of partnership, Delta and Virgin
Atlantic have built a network centered on the needs of customers.
For Seattle, that means adding 50
daily seats between Sea-Tac and London," said Mike
Medeiros, Delta's Vice President–Seattle. "Seattleites will
appreciate Virgin Atlantic's Premium Economy product and its
pioneering, authentic brand, while enjoying the same high level of
service they've grown accustomed to on Delta's London flight."
Virgin Atlantic's Seattle to
London-Heathrow service will operate as follows:
Flight
number
|
Departure
|
Arrival
|
VS106
|
Seattle at 7:10
p.m.
|
London-Heathrow at 1
p.m. (next day)
|
VS105
|
London-Heathrow at 11
a.m.
|
Seattle at 1:20
p.m.
|
Along with the swap in Seattle,
Delta will launch seasonal service from Portland to London, Portland's first and only flight to the U.K.
The flight will be operated four days per week from May 26, 2017, through Oct.
29, 2017 using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Home to four
Fortune 1000 companies, Portland's
growing economy outpaces the U.S. average, and London service will complement Delta's
existing long-haul international service to Amsterdam and Tokyo for Portland's business customers. Portland is also a popular tourist destination
for travelers from Europe.
Delta's Portland to
London-Heathrow service will operate as follows:
Flight
number
|
Departure
|
Arrival
|
DL36
|
Portland at 5
p.m.
|
London-Heathrow at
11:05 a.m. (next day)
|
DL37
|
London-Heathrow at
12:30 p.m.
|
Portland at 3:15
p.m.
|
Delta's joint venture with Virgin Atlantic gives customers more
options and a seamless experience between the U.S. and U.K.
Together, the airlines continuously evaluate their joint
trans-Atlantic network to match the right aircraft to the right
destinations. Seattle was one of
the first trans-Atlantic services to result from the joint venture
when it began in March 2014.
Beginning March 25, 2017, the
airlines' joint summer 2017 schedule will include a total of 42
peak daily nonstop flights between the U.S. and the U.K. Of these,
28 flights will operate between London-Heathrow and popular U.S. destinations such as
Seattle, Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Atlanta and
Washington, and 14 flights will
operate between Manchester,
Glasgow, Belfast, London Gatwick and Edinburgh to popular U.S. destinations.
Delta is the largest global carrier at Sea-Tac and Portland International Airport and has more
than tripled flights at its Seattle hub since 2012. This summer, Delta
will offer more than 150 peak-day departures to more than 40
destinations from Seattle,
offering Delta and Virgin Atlantic's London customers connecting opportunities
throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Every Delta flight from Seattle features jet
service with Delta One/First Class and Delta Comfort+ seating and
free entertainment options via Delta Studio as well as Wi-Fi
service on nearly every domestic aircraft operating in the
contiguous U.S. The airline will open a new Delta Sky Club
located between Concourses A and B in late 2016.
Delta has also invested $15 million in its facilities
at Sea-Tac, including its Delta Sky Club and lobby renovations, Sky
Priority services, new gate area power recharging stations,
expanded ticket counters and enhancements to the international
arrivals area. Delta's significant investments in Seattle have driven changes across the
competitive landscape – from product enhancements, to facility
improvements, to financial benefits and community investment.
*Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses are open to Virgin Atlantic Upper
Class customers, Flying Club Gold members and Delta Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion®
members.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves nearly
180 million customers each year. In 2016, Delta was named to
Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named
the most admired airline for the fifth time in six years.
Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News
Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented five consecutive years.
With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta
Connection carriers offer service to 330 destinations in 61
countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees
worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft.
The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and
participates in the industry's leading transatlantic joint
venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture
with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners,
Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key
hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los
Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia,
London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake
City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of
dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and
technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the
ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub,
as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta,
Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.
About Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic was founded by
entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson 30
years ago after he decided the UK aviation industry needed shaking
up and style injected back into it. On 22nd
June 1984, Virgin Atlantic's inaugural flight to
Newark took place, on an aircraft
filled with personal friends, celebrities and the media.
The airline has pioneered a range of innovations setting new
standards of service. For example, Virgin Atlantic was the first
airline to introduce the Premium Economy product, include a bar in
every aircraft for Upper Class customers, offer seatback TVs on
every seat in every cabin, develop a fully flatbed seat and fly a
commercial aircraft on biofuels. Despite Virgin Atlantic's growth,
the service still remains customer driven with an emphasis on value
for money, quality, fun and innovation.
Today, Virgin Atlantic flies to 33 destinations worldwide,
including locations across the United
States, the Caribbean,
Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Virgin Atlantic currently has a fleet of
39 aircraft, which is comprised of Boeing 747s, Boeing 787s, Airbus
A340-600s and A330-300s.
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delta-virgin-atlantic-add-50-daily-seats-between-seattle-and-london-launch-portland-london-service-300276758.html
SOURCE Delta Air Lines