Virgin Atlantic Adds New Manchester to Delhi Service

Virgin Atlantic announced last week that it would be starting flights from Manchester to Delhi from October 26.

The flight will operate three times per week on Airbus A330-200s, fitted with Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class cabins to seat 266 passengers, according to Routesonline.

The flight times are as follows, according to Routesonline and a Manchester Airport press release:

• VS318 will leave Manchester on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 4:40 p.m. to arrive in Delhi the next day at 6:05 a.m.
• VS319 will leave Delhi on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 8:10 a.m. to return to Manchester for 12:10 p.m.

The airline currently operates a long-haul network from the airport, although it is all to North America. This will be the first destination in the east from its Northern hub, recognizing the strength of the North’s business and leisure market.

Virgin Atlantic has reported that the route is to be a seasonal operation, likely for the winter season due to its October start date.

This is the first link the northern airport has had with Delhi since Air India stopped the route, via Rome, almost 20 years ago. Jet Airways briefly served Mumbai from the airport for a few months from November 2018 before suspending all flights the following April. Manchester currently has a route to Goa in India operated by TUI Airways.

The airline is also due to open a new Clubhouse at the airport in the summer and is to add additional capacity on its Manchester to Barbados route.

Passengers from the north of England wishing for nonstop flights to Delhi would otherwise have had to travel from Birmingham or London, so this route is set to benefit over 500,000 people of Indian origin living across the North, over a third of whom live in the airport’s catchment area. Tickets will go on sale from Virgin Atlantic on March 3.