Is Virgin Atlantic’s Return to Asia-Pacific More Obligation or Opportunity?
Photo Credit: A side street in Seoul, South Korea. Unsplash / Markus Winkler
Skift Take
With the closure of Russian airspace resulting in flight times of up 14.5 hours, and lots of low-yielding leisure passengers, this probably isn't a dream route for Virgin Atlantic — but it'll be trying its best to make the numbers add up.
Virgin Atlantic is returning to Asia-Pacific with a new route to Seoul. The service from its London Heathrow hub will launch on March 29, 2026, and operate daily.
The news will not come as a huge surprise for industry watchers.
In 2023, Virgin Atlantic won traffic rights to operate between London and Seoul as part of pro-competitive conditions tied to the merger of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines. It also launched a codeshare partnership with Korean Air which it described as "a first step towards Virgin Atlantic's entry to Seoul."
However, given fleet constraints and expansion in other regions, it wasn’t clear if or when exactly Virgin would exercise its rights.
In February, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) extended the deadline for Virgin Atlantic to launch the London-Seoul route. This followed a formal request by the British airli
