Passengers travelling on Virgin Atlantic, one of the world’s leading long-haul airlines, can now book Eurostar tickets for onward high-speed journeys between London, Paris and Brussels.

Virgin Atlantic is the first airline in the world to implement an e-ticketing agreement with Eurostar, enabling passengers to travel seamlessly between London and Paris or Brussels . Virgin Atlantic passengers can simply make a booking on Eurostar at the same time as they book their air ticket via the Virgin Atlantic contact center, which has access to live availability on each high speed train, or through their local travel agent.

Alan Lias, Head of Loyalty, Virgin Atlantic, said:

"This new agreement gives Virgin Atlantic passengers even more flexibility. They can quickly and effortlessly book Eurostar tickets when booking a flight, and experience the delights of Eurostar’s key destinations � London, Lille, Paris and Brussels."

Eurostar is the only rail operator in the world to be registered on GDS in its own right. Following the move to paperless ticketing Eurostar has pioneered this IET solution to enable travel agents, and passengers, to book Virgin Atlantic and Eurostar tickets in one transaction.

Emma Harris, Director of Sales and Marketing, Eurostar, said:

"We’re delighted that travellers on all Virgin Atlantic routes will be the first to benefit from the convenience of this new arrangement. Many of our customers making corporate bookings can now take full advantage of these through fares, opening up a host of new travel opportunities. The vast majority of people traveling between London and Paris and Brussels use Eurostar and it’s fantastic news that our overseas travellers will now have greater access to the ease and comfort of high speed rail journeys."

Notes to editors

1. Eurostar tickets to Brussels are also valid for journeys to any Belgian station, including Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent.
2. Bookings made in the UK can be made up to 120 days in advance of travel and up to 270 days for bookings made from Virgin Atlantic’s international destinations.
3. Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club members can also redeem, on Eurostar services, any miles they’ve earned on Virgin Atlantic flights or via the Virgin Atlantic credit card.
4. Virgin Atlantic was the world’s first airline to test clean fuels in flight and introduce an onboard carbon-offsetting programme
5. Eurostar is the only high speed international rail operator which provides carbon neutral journeys at no extra cost to travellers

For further information please contact the Virgin Atlantic Press Officeon +44 (0) 1293 747373 or log ontowww.virginatlantic.com Or contact the Eurostar Press Office on +44 (0)20 7843 5500 or at press.office@eurostar.co.uk