With the launch – relaunch, actually – of Virgin Atlantic from Canada next May, company executives Simon Hawkins and Kathryn Stanley were in Toronto recently to talk about “everything and anything” regarding the colourful British carrier and its imminent, and much anticipated, return to this country.

At a meeting with Travel Industry Today at Visit Britain’s downtown office, Hawkins, Head of the Americas for Virgin, described the company as “quite an open book as an organization, culturally.”

Indeed, most Canadians would certainly be familiar with Virgin Atlantic. And even if Sir Richard Branson does not generate enough publicity for himself and Virgin, the airline has already had a brief stint in Toronto in the early 2000s, which was “slightly curtailed obviously due to 9/11.” There was also a seasonal service out of Vancouver back in the early 2010s.

“My remit is the Americas, so by the Virgin Atlantic definition, that’s the Caribbean, the United States, and now Canada as well. (And we’re) so incredibly excited to be back here,” said an enthusiastic Hawkins.

He added, “I think most people are very much familiar with (our history)” – a story that began from a very small start with Richard Branson in 1984 when Virgin Atlantic operated a single leased 747-200, operating from London Gatwick to Newark, NJ.

Fast forward and earlier this year the company celebrated its 40th anniversary with a lavish event in Las Vegas where (no surprise) partygoers ended up in the swimming pool with Sir Richard. 

“We are people-based,” said Hawkins, discussing the spirit and history of innovation within Virgin. “When people talk about premium economy, when was that launched? … Well, that was 1992 Virgin Atlantic, seat-back TVs, fully flat-lie beds. We have a rich history of innovation and that does continue today. When we launch Toronto, we will be bringing in our A339neo, which is our new aircraft.”

Virgin will operate a total of 14 A339neos with a capacity of 280 seats divided between Upper Class, Premium and Economy.

“It’s a fantastic product,” Hawkins enthused. “It’s Bluetooth enabled. There’s wireless charging in your seats. We also … like to bring new bits of innovation to every new aircraft. We have something called the Retreat Suite, which is two suites at the front of the aircraft with significant legroom. And it’s a very private suite that our customers can take advantage of.”

Most loved travel company

The Virgin executive admitted, “Internally, we like to call ourselves, or the focus is – ‘the most loved travel company.’ That starts with our people. It starts with the people in this room, but obviously the service that we provide as well. Our people are our ‘secret sauce’ as an organization.

“When we look at our NPS scores (Net Promoter Scores – a measure used to gauge customer loyalty, satisfaction, and enthusiasm with a company) and we can look at obviously our CSAT scores (customer satisfaction score, which gauges how happy consumers are with a purchase or interaction), relative to other carriers on the transatlantic and they are significantly higher. And we know that our crew, our flight attendants are the secret sauce of that as well. So, very people driven!”

Sustainability

More recently, the biggest challenge as an industry and from a Virgin Atlantic perspective is sustainability, said Hawkins, who noted that the company boasts the youngest and greenest Transatlantic fleet.

“We very much are proud of that as an organization. So, taking on new aircraft is about product, but it’s also about the sustainability aspect as well. And by 2026 we will have a full fleet of next generation aircraft. At the moment, we’re at about 75%, which not many other airlines can claim (right now).”

So, he said, Virgin Atlantic is, “very excited to continue to develop and we’re going through quite a significant fleet transformation as an airline.”

Partners

The Virgin exec continued: “I’d be remiss not to talk about our partnership with Delta and Air France/KLM. We are part of a much bigger family who overall operate collectively around 26% of transatlantic (seat) capacity, which is significant. We’re a smaller carrier relative to Delta and Air France/KLM, but we play a very important role in that partnership. And it is a partnership and actually Canada is a really good symbol of that.

“We obviously are very familiar with Air France and KLM’s operations that they have going over to Europe, and we are part of that partnership now as well. So even if you go to virginatlantic.com today, you can book flights from across Canada, operating either through our codeshare with WestJet, which we will look to expand as well. Or in addition to that, Air France/KLM as well going via Amsterdam or Paris.”

Canada

Hawkins quickly added that Virgin will soon establish a Canadian office, explaining, “We’ll have individuals based here, so we will be putting an ad out for a country manager shortly.”

Additionally, he said the ATI (antitrust immunity) that exists between Virgin Atlantic, Delta and Air France/KLM, applies to both the US and Canada, which means Virgin will be able to utilize Delta’s existing sales team in Canada.

“So,” he summarized, “we will have a country manager, we’ll have an airport and operations function, and it’s a light touch for now. But as I said, we’ve got this really good strong Delta team that’s based throughout Canada that will be supporting us as well.

“Canada has always been something that we wanted to expand into. I think our partnership with Delta Air France/KLM does really help to facilitate that as well. Not to mention the partnership with WestJet as well, but we are looking to expand.”

Routes and schedules

As for the highly competitive transatlantic market from Canada, Hawkins said, “At Virgin Atlantic, we always think there’s a spot. I mean, going back 40 years there was a spot from London to New York – and again, what we stood for 40 years ago remains today, which is, ‘let’s challenge in a market.’

“We know there is a dominant carrier – I think … over 50% of departures from Toronto airport are Air Canada. We know there’s a significant competitor, not to mention British Airways and obviously Air Transat as well. So, we think there’s a space in there. We think we provide something very unique. We have the right partnerships, and we have a strong appeal not only to the UK, India, but also obviously the Canadian traveller as well. Not to mention brand Britain continues to be a very strong attraction for the Canadian public.”

Asked whether Virgin’s relationship with WestJet might expand further – perhaps into its joint venture with Delta – Hawkins replied, “I think at the moment we are comfortable with the codeshare relationship that we have. (But) we’re always looking for more opportunities. I think that we’re very clear that we are relatively small when you think about the size of Virgin Atlantic with 45 aircraft relative to even our joint venture partners.

“So, we see big opportunities in expanding that virtual footprint through codeshares, frequent flyer reciprocity. And WestJet is a really good partner that we can have within Canada. And there is already a codeshare relationship that we have with them. You can book Virgin Atlantic from Calgary to London for example right now.”

As for a possible return to Vancouver, Hawkins was non-committal. “I think the partnership with WestJet, the footprint, we will continue to evaluate all of these opportunities. I think there’s always opportunities out there. And Canada’s such a fantastic country and I think certainly coming inbound from the UK, but also the outbound, the feedback I’ve had so far is just extraordinary.”

Virgin Atlantic Holidays

Virgin Atlantic Holidays is based in the UK, a market that currently comprises approximately 15% of the seats sold on Virgin Atlantic. There are, however, plans to introduce a flight-plus-hotel component from Canada and the US in 2025.

Hawkins notes, “From a selling perspective, the UK curve starts to pick up from September, and so we will have a number of campaigns. I should call out that yesterday afternoon we were with the GTAA (Greater Toronto Airport Authority), and we’re already developing a really good partnership with them and they’re very supportive of us not only within Canada, but also from a visit-Canada perspective from the UK side.”

The new Virgin Atlantic services will begin March 30, 2025; tickets are on sale now.

(Ed note: Stay tuned for more on Virgin Atlantic in Travel Industry Today, including the airline’s plans beyond Canada).