Virgin Atlantic has announced plans for a vastly expanded route network out of London Heathrow, challenging what it calls the International Airlines Group’s (IAG’s) “stranglehold” over the airport.
The plan would see Virgin operate 84 new destinations in the UK and beyond after the completion of the planned third runway at Heathrow.
The airline wants to target new destinations, including Kolkata, Jakarta, Panama City and Buenos Aires.
It also wants to add 37 new European destinations, including Barcelona, Dublin and Madrid, and serve a wider range of domestic routes, including Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.
Virgin plans to compete with IAG and its joint venture partner on at least 25 routes if it were granted the slots. Routes would include Accra in Ghana, Basel in Switzerland, Buenos Aires in Argentina and Cape Town.
In a statement released yesterday, the airline said Heathrow had been dominated by one airline group for “far too long”.
“The third runway is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the status quo and create a second flag carrier. This would lower fares and give real choice to passengers,” said Virgin.
IAG, which owns British Airways, Aer Lingus, Iberia and other airlines, currently holds about 55% of Heathrow slots. Joint venture partners Virgin, Delta and Air France KLM hold less than 10% between them, while no single airline holds more than 5%.
