The UK carrier is now offering 21 weekly flights between Heathrow and LAX airports – providing 18% more capacity on the route than during 2019.
Rachel Wilton, vice president of global sales at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Los Angeles has always been a popular route among our customers, and we at Virgin Atlantic and our partners at Delta Air Lines are thrilled with the increased services to the destination, with demand returning and surpassing pre-pandemic levels.”
The UK and Ireland was the largest international tourism market for Los Angeles in 2022, with a total of 300,000 visitors and this is expected to rise by another 10% this year to reach 330,000 arrivals. Los Angeles Tourism is also forecasting that 2024 will see the number of UK and Irish visitors surpass 2019 levels.
The city’s tourist office celebrated Virgin Atlantic’s increase in capacity to LA with a visit to the airline’s head office in Crawley.
Francine Sheridan, regional vice president, Europe and Middle East, at Los Angeles Tourism, added: “This has been a great chance to celebrate the continued growth of Virgin Atlantic’s service between LA and London.
“Their offering of more flights than in 2019 is great for the trade, with more opportunities to get clients to the City of Angels to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hollywood Sign this year.”
