Virgin Atlantic set to soar to South America
Fasten your seatbelts, and get ready to jet-off to the home of Samba, caipirinhas and acai bowls with Virgin Atlantic’s newest flight route to São Paulo. By March 2020, flyers will be able to zip across the Atlantic Ocean to one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
Flying daily between London Heathrow and São Paulo’s Guarulhos airport, the 11 hour 55 minute flight is Virgin Atlantic’s first into South America.
Tourists will be able to use the city as a hop off point to see some of the country’s biggest sites, from the roaring Iguazu Falls, a natural border that slices between Argentina and Brazil, and the white crescent beaches of Santa Catarina. Rio, with its carnival, party-atmosphere, and burgeoning food scene, is also within easy reach. Virgin Holidays intends to launch a full product offering within Brazil for the first time.
In addition to a booming tourism industry, Brazil’s lucrative business market is now in easy reach. São Paulo is the commercial capital of Brazil and one of the top 20 global economic cities; it’s the largest city in the Americas (after New York) for multinational companies to have offices, which makes it a brilliant place for Virgin Atlantic to broaden its offering to existing corporate customers.
With this in mind, Brazil’s position of being the number one import and export country in South America will also make São Paulo a popular cargo route. With multiple tonnes of capacity each day, Virgin Atlantic expects to carry regular shipments of car parts, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products.
Juha Jarvinen, Virgin Atlantic executive vice president – commercial, says the opportunities for corporate customers and multinational businesses located in this Powerhouse of South America are huge. They can now enjoy the Virgin Atlantic experience on this busy international route.
“But it’s not all about business – I’m also thrilled to introduce an exciting new destination to our leisure customers. São Paulo boasts numerous cultural institutions such as the Museu de Arte, has a rich architectural history, and acts as a gateway for leisure travel within the rest of Brazil and beyond. This is a prime opportunity for Virgin Holidays who are busy securing a range of ancillary partners and diverse accommodation options for those customers seeking a full-service holiday offering.”
The route will be flown by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, with an Upper Class, Premium and Economy Delight, Classic and Light offering.
Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, from Brazil’s Ministry of Tourism, said: “The increase of air connectivity is one of the priorities of the Government in order to make Brazil more competitive in the global tourism scenario. This new flight is a great achievement for our country.”
The airline also looks forward to becoming the founding member of a new, $13 billion transatlantic joint venture with over 300 daily transatlantic flights and 96 non-stop transatlantic routes, alongside Delta, Air France and KLM as well as launching new services from London Heathrow to Las Vegas, Manchester to Los Angeles and London Heathrow to Tel Aviv.
Head to the Virgin Atlantic website to find out more.
