Virgin Atlantic Cargo adds new London to Seattle route

Virgin Atlantic Cargo has launched a new daily service from London to Seattle, in addition to bolstering its services from Manchester to the US with additional flights.

Senior Vice President, Cargo at Virgin Atlantic, John Lloyd, commented on the new route, which is to join the airline’s network on March 26. “Seattle is in the top 15 import/export markets for cargo between the UK and US and the level of interest from customers since we announced plans to start the route last year indicates we can gain a strong share of the market,” he explained, adding that the 10.2% increase in tonnages in 2016 through Seattle-Tacoma illustrate that it is a significant, growing origin, transit and destination point for cargo.

Virgin’s 2017 summer schedule also includes the launch of direct Manchester-San Francisco operations three times a week, beginning March 28. The following day a new twice-weekly service from Manchester to Boston will begin, while April will see the launch of a weekly service from Gatwick to Varadero in Cuba and, at the end of May, daily Manchester-New York JFK flights will commence.

With 12 US gateways in operation, Virgin already provides some 30% of transatlantic cargo capacity and tonnage from the UK to the US rose by 8.4% year-on-year in 2016. Lloyd concludes: “2016 was a challenging year for everyone so we are very encouraged by the growth in our volumes from the UK to the US… With the launch of Seattle and our commitment to customers in the North of England we are optimistic of further growth in 2017.”