Speaking at the Airlines 2022 conference in London on Monday (21 November), Virgin chief executive Shai Weiss said the move to consolidate its London flights at one base – Heathrow – during the pandemic had increased efficiency and reduced costs.
He highlighted Heathrow’s connectivity and contrasted it with Gatwick, where he said only 10% of passengers transferred flights. “There is no connectivity there,” he said.
He added: “We have consolidated at Heathrow. If we could create another gateway, we would consider it. But until that happens, we are at Heathrow.”
Weiss also dampened expectations of regional expansion, but said flights from Manchester and Scotland were safe. “Our commitment to Manchester is unwavering, although it has reduced; I think it will come back over time,” he said, adding the airport had a catchment of 20 million people. “Our home in the north is a very important part of our jigsaw.”
He added seasonal Scottish services, such as to Orlando, would also continue. “There is demand, but it is not likely it will go beyond the places we fly at the moment,” he said.
Heathrow fears
Weiss said Virgin’s impending membership of SkyTeam, which it will join “by the end of Q1”, would bring it better connectivity with fellow members like Air France-KLM. He added he was open to talks with any carrier that could feed Virgin’s network.
Weiss was critical of Heathrow’s performance this summer, calling for the CAA to step in. “A repeat of this summer in 2023 is completely avoidable if honest and accurate passenger forecasts are used," he said. "We are ready to fly our programme, and so should they be.”
He blasted “the abuse of power by a de facto monopolistic airport” following Heathrow’s request for a 120% hike in passenger fees. “If we want a globally competitive aviation sector that should simply not be allowed to happen,” he said.
