Virgin Announces New Route

Virgin Atlantic Airways

Cape Town, October 2012: Virgin Atlantic Airways will once again introduce its popular direct flight between Cape Town and London from 18 October 2012 to April 2013, in time for the busy holiday season. The flight will ensure holidaymakers and business travellers alike cut down on travel time and the expense of connecting flights.

Simon Newton-Smith, Country Manager for South Africa of Virgin Atlantic Airways says, “Other airlines have stopped their direct flights between London and Cape Town, but we plan our routes to meet the needs and convenience of our customers. Cape Town is one of the key tourist destinations in South Africa, with its beautiful beaches and surrounding wine estates. We want to make it easier for international travellers to visit the city. By introducing the direct flight for summer, we believe this will drive additional tourism to both London and Cape Town by offering convenience along with the unique Virgin experience our passengers love. The direct route also cuts down costs, whichever way you’re flying.”

Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer at South African Tourism, says,  “The United Kingdom (UK) is by a long way South Africa’s (SA) biggest tourism market, having attracted a total of 420 483 tourist arrivals to South Africa in 2011. Encouragingly this has increased by 5.5 percent in the first six months of this year. As the UK market continues to show signs of recovery from the global recession, airlift capacity bringing passengers to SA from the UK is critical.  We’re extremely excited about Virgin Atlantic’s launch of the direct seasonal London – Cape Town route, which we are confident will be successful and which will contribute considerably to tourist arrivals to SA. Cape Town was named the number one destination in the world in 2011 by the readers of top travel website, Trip Advisor, so we are very excited about this direct route into one of the world’s best destinations.”

Virgin Atlantic takes all its clients’ needs into consideration offering its passengers the option of choosing from economy, premium economy or upper class which offers pure luxury and comfort.

Virgin Atlantic launches this route with three flights a week and will move to daily flights at the end of October from London Heathrow to Cape Town.Return Economy fares start from R7999 per person. This fare is available for selected departures. Prices given are correct as of today and are subject to change.