Virgin Atlantic Becomes Latest Western Airline to Exit China

17.07.2024 - 15:54 / skift.com / London Heathrow / Virgin Atlantic / Marjan Rintel / Juha Jarvinen / Gordon Smith

Virgin Atlantic is withdrawing from China after 25 years. The last round-trip for the company’s London to Shanghai service will be on October 25. The British airline cited “significant challenges and complexities” for the commercially motivated decision.

Virgin’s operations have become increasingly costly due to increased flight times. London to Shanghai has always been a long-haul link, but the closure of Russian airspace has resulted in even longer journeys. 

Virgin resumed its Shanghai route in May 2023 following the pandemic. Since then, a typical flight from Heathrow is an hour longer, while the return to London is two hours longer.

Traveling westbound, Virgin’s advertised journey time between the two cities is 14 hours and 20 minutes. By comparison, Chinese airlines that still fly over Russia can operate the same route in under 12 hours.

As well as burning more fuel and being less convenient for passengers, Virgin’s longer flights mean additional aircraft and crew resourcing for the airline. 

Speaking to last month, KLM CEO Marjan Rintel shared her frustration at the broader situation. “It’s not a level playing field. It takes another two hours for us, four cockpit crew, and of course, more fuel, which is not the cheapest today.

“It’s really frustrating and I think it’s harmful for relationships. We are in an international world and an international competition. It’s very hard to have restrictions from Europe or Russia that are not valid for others,” said Rintel.

In a statement to a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “After careful consideration, we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our London Heathrow to Shanghai services, after proudly serving this Asian hub city since 1999. 

“However, significant challenges and complexities on this route have contributed to the commercial decision to suspend flying to Shanghai. We’re sorry for the disappointment caused to our loyal customers. Anyone booked to travel from October 26, 2024 will be offered a refund.”

Virgin confirmed that affected customers will be contacted from July 18 to discuss alternative options. Given Virgin Atlantic’s new codeshare partnership with China Eastern, it is likely passengers will be offered a place on the Chinese carrier’s Shanghai-Heathrow service.

The latest messaging from Virgin is in stark contrast to comments made by its chief commercial officer earlier this year. In late January, Juha Jarvinen described China and East Asia as “an incredibly important region for Virgin Atlantic.”

With Hong Kong dropped in 2022 and Tokyo leaving the network almost a decade ago, it leaves the Indian city of Bengaluru as the carrier’s most easterly destination. However, this title could be short-lived. Virgin Atlantic has won