The carrier reported a major spike in bookings within just
one hour of the travel announcement being made on Monday.
Bookings to the US rose by more than 600% compared to the
same time last week on the announcement of the removal of the transatlantic
travel ban on fully vaccinated travellers from the UK, Virgin Atlantic claimed.
Would-be-travellers were boosted by the Biden
administration’s announcement on Monday that the ban would be lifted from
November.
New York had the most bookings of any US city overnight.
The airline’s leisure destinations were also performing
well, with Orlando flights up 11-fold, Miami nine-fold and Las Vegas
eight-fold.
Flights to the Caribbean have risen 50% week-on-week, with
its newest route to St Vincent and The Grenadines, set to launch on October 13,
becoming the most booked.
Barbados follows closely behind, with bookings for both
October half-term and the Christmas break proving the most popular time to
visit. Bookings to both Jamaica and St Lucia have also doubled.
Interest in routes popular among those visiting friends and
relatives also remain strong.
Bookings to Pakistan increased by nearly 300%, following its
removal from the red list with flights from London to India almost doubling.
The simplification of rules on international travel,
including the scrapping of expensive PCR tests for the fully vaccinated, are already having a significant impact on
consumer confidence, resulting in a surge in demand across Virgin Atlantic’s
route network.
Chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen said: “Following the
gradual relaxation of travel restrictions, we’ve seen demand increase to many
of our global destinations, but the USA has always been our heartland.
“We are simply not Virgin without the Atlantic and I’m thrilled
we’re finally able to return to the country that’s so important to us. We’ve missed flying our customers to the USA
and we can’t wait to welcome them back on board for their American adventures
soon.”
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