The three-times-weekly route will be operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays departing Manchester at 4.40pm and arriving in Delhi at 6.05am the following morning.
Return flights will operate on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays departing Delhi at 8.10am, arriving Manchester at 12.10pm.
The inaugural flight will take place on 26 October. Return economy fares lead in from £535pp.
Virgin said the new route would complement its existing double-daily Heathrow-Delhi service, while marking 20 years flying to the city, and daily Heathrow-Mumbai service, which would offer 600,000 seats a year between the UK and India.
“2020 is an extremely exciting year of continued growth for Virgin Atlantic and increasing our presence out of Manchester is a huge focus for us,” said Virgin chief commercial officer Juha Jarvinen.
“[It] marks our 20th anniversary of flying to India. As the destination continues to grow in popularity for both business and leisure travel, we’re thrilled to fly to Delhi for the very first time from Manchester, our home in the north.”
Virgin will also increase its Havana service this year, which it is switching from Gatwick to Heathrow, and its Manchester-Barbados service early next year.
An additional weekly Havana has been added, growing Virgin’s Boeing 787-9 service – which will move to Heathrow in the summer – to three times weekly, flying on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and adding an extra 45% capacity on winter 2019/20. Return economy fares lead in from £696pp.
Then from January 2021, Virgin will move a Boeing 747 three times a week onto its Manchester-Barbados route, adding 13% capacity on winter 2019/20. Flights will operate on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Virgin’s route growth also includes its recently announced daily Heathrow-Cape Town service, launching on 25 October. Return economy fares lead in from £713pp, complementing Virgin’s existing daily Heathrow-Johannesburg service.
