Flights between London Heathrow and São Paulo next year will be the UK carrier’s first foray into South America.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo is launching daily flights between London Heathrow and Brazil’s economic powerhouse São Paulo, with the Boeing 787 service set to offer cargo customers “multiple tonnes of capacity a day”.
The new route represents Virgin Atlantic’s first foray into South America and will give customers direct access into the continent’s largest import and export market, Virgin said, noting: “The new service aims to capitalise on the fast-growing Brazilian economy and São Paulo’s standing as the country’s commercial capital and one of the top 20 global economic cities. The airline expects to carry regular shipments of car parts, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products.”
São Paulo, the largest city in the Americas after New York for companies with multi-national offices, is Virgin Atlantic’s second global route announcement of 2019 following the airline’s confirmation it will begin daily Heathrow-Tel Aviv flights on 25 September this year, describing it as “another prime cargo route for imports and exports”.
Dominic Kennedy, managing director for cargo, commented: “São Paulo is a fantastic route for our cargo customers, with high demand for both import and export capacity. Brazil is the powerhouse of South America and we are excited to be flying to this continent for the first time.
“Alongside the launch of Tel Aviv services in September, this new phase of growth for Virgin Atlantic means we are giving customers more choice to two of the world’s most dynamic cargo markets at a time when both are enjoying increasing prosperity, driven by their thriving business and consumer communities.”
Virgin Atlantic has embarked on an ambitious growth plan which, in 2019, includes the arrival of the first four of 12 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The A350-1000 will deliver a 10-22% improvement in lower deck cargo capacity depending on the aircraft’s configuration.
This year will also see the airline move to Heathrow’s most state-of-the-art cargo terminal, twice the size of its existing operation, and invest in digital technologies “to give customers new self-service options and make Virgin Atlantic Cargo easier to do business with”, the carrier said.
“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 and Manchester to Los Angeles.”
Last May, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic Limited signed definitive agreements to combine their existing transatlantic joint ventures. Closer cooperation between Delta Cargo, Air France KLM Cargo and Virgin Atlantic Cargo across the trans-Atlantic is subject to regulatory approvals and the receipt of anti-trust immunity (ATI) from the US Department of Transportation (DOT). Once ATI is received, the cargo divisions “will be able to start working together giving customers more choice across a broad network of passenger flights with joint trucking options and tailored products and services”, Virgin said.
Source: lloyd´s
