Virgin Atlantic announced on Wednesday that it would add a new nonstop route from its hub at London Heathrow (LHR) to Tampa, Florida, as part of its ongoing transatlantic growth (TPA).
On November 3, 2022, service to The Sunshine State will start, just in time to meet the winter demand.
The carrier will first run the city pair four times each week before swiftly raising the frequency to daily service starting on November 28—three and a half weeks later.
Virgin Atlantic Flight 129 will depart Heathrow at 1:25 and land in Tampa at 6:35 the same day, for a total travel time of 10 hours and 10 minutes.
The return flight, VS130, will take a total of 8 hours and 25 minutes, leaving Tampa at 8:50 p.m., and landing in London at 10:15 a.m. the following day.
VS129 LHR-TPA 1:25 P.M. – 6:35 P.M.
VS130 TPA-LHR 8:50 P.M. – 10:15 A.M.+1
On July 13, tickets will go on sale. Return economy fares start at £520 ($436 USD), premium fares start at $1,117 ($937 USD), and first class fares start at $2,690 ($2,256 USD).
With this news, the London-based airline will be the only one to fly directly between the Tampa Bay area and London’s main airport, London Heathrow.
British Airways is the nearest rival on the route, providing nonstop service four times per week between London Gatwick and Tampa. Data from the Department of Transportation indicates that British Airways carried 165,224 passengers between the two cities in 2019, before the effects of Covid-19 on the tourism sector.
