Virgin Atlantic Airways, the United Kingdom's No. 2 flag carrier, held a launch ceremony on the 14th for its London–Incheon route and announced its operating strategy. Virgin Atlantic plans to aggressively target rising inbound demand by offering competitive fares compared with Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines, which operate the route.
Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive Officer Corneel Koster said at the launch ceremony held at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 that "the Incheon–London route is highly competitive, but demand from the United Kingdom has surged since the route launch," unveiling the plan.
Virgin Atlantic began operating Incheon International Airport and London Heathrow Airport seven times a week starting on the 29th, when this year's summer schedule began. Since British Airways suspended the route in 2020, only Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines had operated it.
Virgin Atlantic launched the service after receiving slot transfers from Korean Air Lines under a decision by the United Kingdom's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) at the time of the Korean Air Lines–Asiana Airlines merger. Koster said, "It is true that we received the slots due to competition restrictions arising from the merger, but we believed there was sufficient simple round-trip demand and have long worked to launch the route."
According to the aviation information portal, the number of passengers on the Incheon–London route was 526,287 in 2019, before the impact of COVID-19, but plunged to 20,949 in 2021.
It has since shown a recovery trend, with last year's passenger count reaching 359,158. In the 10 days from the 29th, when Virgin Atlantic launched service, the number of passengers was 15,571, up 43% from a year earlier.
In addition to this rising demand, Virgin Atlantic aims to establish itself in the market by actively targeting strong demand for nonstop routes amid instability in the Middle East with competitive fares. Virgin Atlantic set the lowest round-trip economy fare from Seoul at 846,000 won. Koster said, "We have set the route's fares to be very competitive."
In fact, for a round trip in economy from the 7th to the 13th of next month, when both airlines' flights are available for booking, Virgin Atlantic's fare is around 1.53 million won, about 9% cheaper than Korean Air Lines (1.68 million won).
Virgin Atlantic also plans to differentiate its service to establish itself in the market, including offering ice cream service and afternoon tea even in economy seats. It also plans to work with local travel agencies in the United Kingdom to increase British tourists' visits to Korea.
Koster said, "We plan to invest in the Korean market over the long term," adding, "Next month we will invite major U.K. travel agencies to promote Korea's tourist destinations in the U.K. market and achieve differentiation through travel products that combine neighboring countries."