Virgin Atlantic is set to finally return to Tel Aviv at the end of September – nearly a year after suspending flights to Israel’s financial capital and most populous city in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
Although the airline has yet to officially confirm the news, in an internal memo, Chief Customer & Operating Officer Cornell Koster has told staffers that Virgin Atlantic “really wants” to serve Israel.
As it stands, Koster said the airline currently intends to return to Tel Aviv on September 2024 but to ensure the operation to Israel is as safe as possible, Virgin Atlantic will follow the lead of British Airways and fly via a short stopover in Cyprus.
That means Virgin Atlantic will operate its flight from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv with a short stopover in Larnaca. Passengers heading to Tel Aviv won’t have to get off the aircraft in Cyprus but the crew will change over to avoid having to stay the night in Israel.
A new crew will board the aircraft in Larnaca and then fly to Tel Aviv where they will pick up the passenger for the inbound flight to London Heathrow and then fly back as a non-stop service.
This is the same approach that British Airways has taken in operating flights to Tel Aviv, although, unlike Virgin Atlantic, its miuch bigger rival has been operating flights to Israel since April.
There is, however, going to be one signifgicant advantage for Virgin Atlantic and that’s ther fact that it will be operating its flights to Tel Aviv on a long-haul aircraft, whereas British Airways has switched its flights to short-haul Airbus A321 aircraft which is fitted with slimline Economy-style seats throughout and no inflight entertainment.
That could prove to be a deciding competitive advantage for Virgin Atlantic, and it will be interesting to see how British Airways responds.
Virgin Atlantic is also no doubt keen to return to Israel due to the fact that its partial owner, Delta Air Lines, has decided to suspend non-stop flights to Tel Aviv because it’s so difficult for US carriers to fly to Israel without a crew layover.
That likely means that Virgin Atlantic is not only hoping to tap into the lucrative UK-to-Israel market but may also be hoping to fill its planes with passengers heading to the United States.
As it stands, United Airlines, which was the only other US airline that was flying to Israel, has still suspended flights due to the threat of military action from Iran, so capacity is extremely squeezed.
In the memo, Koster tells staff: “As you are aware, our next possible date to potentially restart TLV is 25th September 24. We would really like to serve the market of Israel to the UK and over the transatlantic, yet of course, we will always ensure our operations are safe, and we look after our crews and customers”.
Conclusion
Given the evolving security situation in Tel Aviv, it seems odd that Virgin Atlantic should resume flights to Israel at this moment, although the carrier has long stated that it wants to return in September 2024.
The approach that Virgin Atlantic has opted for is tried and tested, given that BA has been flying this route since April. Virgin Atlantic most likely wanted to be in a situation where it could operate non-stop flights to Tel Aviv.
Virgin Atlantic’s success on this route is likely going to hinge on how long Delta keeps its non-stop flights from New York JFK suspended. Time will tell.
One thing about the article that is not correct, Tel Aviv has less than half the population of Jerusalem, by far Israel’s most populous city. That makes one question the validity of other information printed.
I often find information on this website misleading and at times completely incorrect, (re John’s comment above.
On another note, the Virgin website and Google flights show it as a non stop direct flights both ways. The aircraft also seems to stay on the ground overnight for several hours.