Speaking at the Europe Inspiration Zone at WTM London on 5 November, the airline’s chief executive Shai Weiss said he thought the potential London-Sydney route, which Qantas is close to launching, is too long.
However, he admitted there were more destinations closer to home that could be of interest.
Weiss said: “Sydney to London has always been an aviator’s dream but personally I wouldn’t want to be on a plane for 19 hours.
“For us there are higher-priority new routes – we’re talking about Asia, we might want to go back to Asia, but to the right airport (Haneda).”
He added India also provided further opportunities that were up for consideration.
Weiss also said the airline was becoming increasingly green thanks to its fleet renewal programme, which will mean by 2023 the fleet will have an average age of 5.3 years with emissions down 33%.
He reiterated the airline’s recent call to get more slots at Heathrow, while admitting the demise of Thomas Cook Airlines has given Virgin Atlantic a number of opportunities to exploit, particularly at Manchester airport.
