Speaking in South Africa’s “Mother City” to celebrate the resumption in November of Virgin’s daily Heathrow-Cape Town service, Jarvinen said demand had exceeded expectations, with 82% load factors in November and December and figures in the 70%-plus bracket for January.
Quizzed on why it had taken such a long time to get back to Cape Town, Jarvinen told TTG Virgin pulled the service in 2015 as it was “not meeting profitability targets”, adding the aircraft used at the time, an Airbus 340-600, “was not optimal for the route”.
“Ever since 2019, we’ve been planning a return with a more efficient aircraft type [Boeing 787-9] and wanted to start with a seasonal service because demand is more winter-weighted," Jarvinen explained. "The pandemic, along with South Africa being on the UK’s red list, delayed our plans and we decided to wait until November 2022 to ensure we could relaunch successfully.”
While confirming daily high-season flights would end, as scheduled, on 25 March this year, ruling out any hope of a low-season service in 2023, Jarvinen told TTG Virgin was seriously considering a year-round Cape Town service. “We will restart in late October 23 for winter, but we will definitely explore spring/summer 2024 to see if there’s an opportunity to extend the season."
Jarvinen said there were multiple factors behind renewed demand for the route. "What is interesting here is not only the leisure demand to and from the UK in the summertime, but also the fact many companies are relocating to Cape Town from places like Johannesburg, making it more of a commercial city – not just a tourist destination – and we believe there will be more business travel.
"We launched the service for leisure, of course, but we will see how the trend evolves. To be relevant to the corporate traveller, you need to be operating year-round, so that gives us the chance to explore different options."
Virgin’s confidence in the resumption of its Cape Town route comes in part from the continued success of its Johannesburg service. “Jo’burg has always been one of our most profitable services – it’s a backbone route for our network,” said Jarvinen.
“South Africa and the UK have close family and business links, and Johannesburg is still the commercial capital of the country – with the business to leisure split standing at around 70:30. We fly there daily year-round, and we can hopefully upgrade to bigger aircraft soon from the Boeing 787/9 we currently operate.”
Jarvinen said value and Virgin’s trademark service set it apart from rival British Airways on the Heathrow-Cape Town route. “We like competition, we’re not afraid of competition," he said. "Everyone who flies with us sees the uniqueness of the Virgin experience, that’s a key thing. We represent great value across all service classes, and premium leisure is a key focus for us – with Upper and Premium standing out – and we’re always competitive with our fares.”
Without giving specific details, Jarvinen also hinted at changes to the airline’s Flying Club loyalty programme, which he said would make it “more relevant” to the group’s overall programme Virgin Red. He also said joining the SkyTeam alliance in March would be a “big step” for Virgin Atlantic.
“It will make us more relevant not just in the UK but in Asia, where many of the SkyTeam carriers like China Eastern Airlines, Korean Air and China Airlines are located," he said. :Having a number of respected Asian airlines as partners makes it easier for consumers to choose us."
Trade commitment
Jarvinen also reiterated Virgin’s support for the trade. “We’re still very much committed,” he said.
“Of course, we are always growing our direct sales through e-commerce and holidays, but this doesn’t move away from the fact the travel trade is Virgin Atlantic’s biggest distribution channel, and we don’t see that changing – we aim to keep it that way.
"We’ll continue to actively work with agencies to ensure we offer attractive fares and deals – they are a key element of what we do."
