Latest news

Due to the runway closure at London Heathrow there may be slight delays to our services today. Please check Flight Status for the latest information before you travel to the airport. In addition UK mobile phone users can update your phone details in My Booking in order for us to send text messages in the event of any significant disruption.

Great news. From 31st March 2013, we’re increasing our hand baggage allowance in Economy, Premium Economy and Little Red flights from 6kg to 10kg, when flying to any Virgin Atlantic destination. Our Upper Class hand baggage allowance remains the same.

What has changed?

Little Red Adults and children age 2+
Number of pieces 1
Max size 23 x 36 x 56 cm (that’s approx. 9 x 14 x 22 inches)
Max weight 10kg

• Please note passengers must be able to place their hand baggage in the overhead bins unaided
• Passengers connecting onto Virgin Atlantic and travelling in Upper Class are entitled to the Upper Class baggage allowance

Economy Adults and children age 2+
Number of pieces 1
Max size 23 x 36 x 56 cm (that’s approx. 9 x 14 x 22 inches)
Max weight 10kg (22lbs)

• Please note passengers must be able to place their hand baggage in the overhead bins unaided

Premium Economy Adults and children age 2+
Number of pieces 1
Max size 23 x 36 x 56 cm (that’s approx. 9 x 14 x 22 inches)
Max weight 10kg (22lbs)

• Please note passengers must be able to place their hand baggage in the overhead bins unaided

Upper Class Adults and Children age 2+
Number of piece 2
Max size 23 x 36 x 56 cm (that’s approx. 9 x 14 x 22 inches)
Max weight (combined) 16kg (35 lbs)
Max weight (individual item) 12kg (26 lbs)

• Please note passengers must be able to place their hand baggage in the overhead bins unaided

Infants Aged 0-2
Number of pieces 1
Max size 23 x 36 x 56 cm (that’s approx. 9 x 14 x 22 inches)
Max weight 6kg (13lbs)

You can find out more about our current hand baggage allowance.

As part of JFK Airport’s exciting development programme building work has been on-going in Terminal 4 check in, bag drop and central search areas, the work is expected to last for approximately 8 more weeks.

A new phase begins on 12 February 2013 when our check-in desks will be relocated from row seven to row nine (which is closer to our Upper Class limo drop off area). Virgin America will also be relocated to row nine and become our new neighbours.Then, commencing on 14 March 2013 a new central search facility will open on the main concourse.

Finally, at the beginning of April 2013 baggage screening will be available at each individual check in desk, which means no more carrying your bags from the check in desk to the TSA screening point at the end of each check in row.

The airport authority have advised us that from 14 March until the start of April, when baggage screening facilities becomes available at each individual check in desk, the new central search area will have limited queuing space because the TSA screening points will be located close by. In order to keep the areas around central search moving efficiently during this two week period there will be no separate priority lanes for our Upper Class customers or those with restricted mobility.

In December 2012 we announced that we would be starting our Domestic services within the UK. In order for this to happen we have arranged to have a wet lease agreement with Aer Lingus.

What this means is that Aer Lingus will supply us with the aircraft and the crew, however the aircraft you will travel on will be fully Virgin branded - the Virgin colours, our name, our livery, and the flight number will have the VS designator code. Your whole experience will be Virgin all the way through.

Virgin Atlantic Airways will now be able to provide services to Manchester, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, either as just a domestic only flight or to provide connections to an onward international flight you may have. Virgin Atlantic’s domestic operation will begin with its summer schedule from 31st March 2013 and will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 1. Tickets for the Scottish routes will go on sale from Wednesday 19th December with fares starting from £99 return.

We are delighted to announce a new strategic alliance with Delta Air Lines.

The new joint venture will create a further expanded trans-Atlantic network and enhance competition between the UK and North America, offering greater benefits for our customers on these routes.

Read our dedicated announcement page for more details and information.

Virgin Atlantic has just announced plans to fly domestic services from London Heathrow to Manchester Airport from March 2013.  We’ll be operating three daily flights to Manchester from 31 March 2013. The flights will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 1 to Manchester Airport Terminal 3, using A319 aircraft. This new route is the first time we’ve flown domestically within the UK, signalling the start of a new network providing us with a regional feed for our long haul services, as well as a much needed choice for passengers flying between the two cities.

While we’re going to apply for all of the remedy slots being awarded following the IAG takeover of BMI, these new flights are being established using existing slots that were previously leased to another airline.

Manchester is a key airport for us, with over 65% of people who fly to London connecting to other flights, the majority to destinations we already serve, including Boston, Cape Town and Hong Kong.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Steve Ridgway said:
“Flying between Heathrow and Manchester is just the start for our new short haul operation. We have the means to connect thousands of passengers to our long haul network as well as to destinations served by other carriers. Our new service will provide strong competition to omnipresent BA. It will keep fares low and give consumers a genuine choice of airline to fly to Heathrow and beyond.”

Read our dedicated FAQs for further information about this service.

Product and service:

Watch this space regarding more details about our domestic onboard service. We’re not going to reveal the details quite yet, but you can rest assured passengers on these flights will receive our usual innovative approach to inflight products and service.

What we can confirm is that Upper Class passengers and Flying Club Gold members connecting to one of our long haul services will enjoy access to partner lounges in London Heathrow Terminal 1 and Manchester Airport Terminal 3. Limo services will also be available to Upper Class passengers travelling on selected fares from Manchester and connecting to one of our long haul flights at Heathrow.

How to book:

Tickets are available from today at the Virgin Atlantic reservation centre on 0844 209 7777. (Flights will be available to book online shortly).

View our Manchester destination guide.

We're the first UK based airline, to make boarding cards available through Apple's* Passbook, streamlining the straight-to-seat experience via your iPhone or iPod touch.

Check-in online and have the option to send your boarding pass directly to your device, giving you a smoother airport experience, allowing you to by-pass the check-in kiosks and head straight to security, or via the bag drop if you're carrying luggage.

Your Virgin Atlantic Passbook boarding pass will be scanned as normal, giving you an enhanced paperless experience. Next stop, duty free!

All flights** departing the UK, which offer our traditional mobile boarding pass, will also offer the new Passbook service.

*Compatible on iPhones and iPod Touches, which have been upgraded to iOS 6.
** Excludes VS200 Heathrow to Hong Kong and Sydney

From today customers travelling through Manchester and London Gatwick will be able to download a boarding pass to their mobile phone to use at all the touch points to ease their journey through the airport. This is an added option to Home Printed Boarding Passes, available online, and traditional boarding passes from a kiosk or bag drop desk. eBusiness, IT and Airport Strategic Development have been working together to bring this fantastic benefit to those customers who want to manage their travel documents on their mobile device or do not have access to printers.

How does it work?
The customer selects the option to issue a mobile boarding pass once they have checked in Online via the website or via mobile check in. The customer can enter a mobile phone number to receive an SMS or an e-mail address to receive an e-mail, both of which will have an embedded URL link to their boarding pass. The customer must have an internet enabled mobile phone so they can access the URL. The boarding pass is then displayed on the mobile device screen with a bar code for scanning at the various touch points around the airport i.e bag drop, security and boarding gate. There is also text on the display with all the major information the customer, our airport staff and Crew will need to read when a bar code scanner is not available.

Only customers checking in individually can opt for a mobile boarding pass as some airports cannot handle multiple mobile boarding passes on one device. Over 250 different devices can currently handle this type of boarding pass and it is available for all customers including staff travel.

We plan to launch London Heathrow in November following some changes to our gate process as we will no longer hold onto a portion of customers boarding pass.

For further information please see our FAQ page

From 1 September 2012, if you book an Upper Class ticket that includes a complimentary chauffeur driven car, we’ll be collecting your Advance Passenger Information when you book.

By doing this you’ll spend less time at check in, so we’ll speed up your journey through the airport. That means you can spend more time in our award-winning Clubhouse relaxing before your flight.

APIS information includes your full name, date of birth, gender, passport number, the country that issued your passport and the date your passport expires. Some countries, including the USA may ask for more information including the address of your first night’s stay in the country.

A selection of seats are now available for pre assignment.  If you wish to request these seats before you fly please go to "Manage flights" or contact your travel agent.

Please be aware if all the pre assignable seats have been taken, your seats will be allocated to you at Check-in.  However it's worth visiting “Manage flights”  online at regular intervals because people do cancel and seats do become available.

On-line check in opens 24 hours before your flight and gives you access to all available seats and will save you time at the airport.