Virgin Atlantic will stop its service to Shanghai later this year due to increased costs as a result of not being able to fly over Russia.
Flights to Shanghai in China currently operate daily using a Boeing 787-9, but the final service from Heathrow, UK to Shanghai will be operated by Virgin Atlantic on October 25 and the final service from Shanghai to Heathrow will operate on October 26, confirmed the airline.
This move to remove Shanghai from the network comes after 25 years of service on the route and according to Virgin Atlantic's network list on its website, the decision means the airline will no longer fly to China at all.
Virgin's decision may come as a surprise at a time when e-commerce demand out of China is in full force. However, the flight primarily caters for passenger demand and increased costs have sealed the fate of the service.
The airline said that increased flight times due to not being able to fly over Russia enroute to and from China has seen operations become "increasingly costly" with additional aircraft and crew time required.
Heathrow (LHR) to Shanghai (PVG) flight times are approximately one hour longer, while flight times from PVG-LHR are two hours longer, said the airline.
The UK carrier had already last year opted not to restore its long-standing Hong Kong route, which it first flew in 1994, following the pandemic due to operational complexities stemming from the closure of Russian airspace following the invasion of Ukraine.
Virgin’s Asia Pacific network still includes Delhi and Mumbai in India and it added flights to the Maldives last year.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “After careful consideration we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our London Heathrow to Shanghai services, after proudly serving this Asian hub city since 1999.
"Our people and customers in Shanghai have been amazing since we first touched down 25 years ago and since then we’ve provided important connectivity between the UK and Shanghai for thousands of customers and supported global supply chains through our cargo operations.
"However, significant challenges and complexities on this route have contributed to the commercial decision to suspend flying to Shanghai."
Virgin Atlantic Cargo told Air Cargo News last year that it is “highly unlikely” to operate freighters again unless favourable economic conditions present another opportunity.
In 2022, the airline had a London-Brussels service operated by Titan Airways, utilising an Airbus A321P2F, plus a service that operated three times a week between Denmark’s Billund Airport and Heathrow Airport in London using an A321F, again operated by Titan Airways.
https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/virgin-atlantic-cargo-expands-online-booking-offering/
https://www.aircargonews.net/policy/environment/virgin-atlantic-cargo-launches-saf-certification-programme/
