While Virgin Atlantic’s route network is heavily focused on transatlantic flights, the airline is launching a couple of new routes to Asia. Several months ago, Virgin Atlantic announced plans to launch flights to South Korea. Oddly the flight was put on sale, and then the flight was pulled shortly thereafter, leaving many to wonder what was going on, or if the airline was having second thoughts (it wouldn’t be the first time — just take a look at the planned Sao Paulo service).
Well, this flight is now once again on sale (with a different schedule), so let’s cover the details. This is in addition to Virgin Atlantic launching seasonal flights to Thailand.
Virgin Atlantic helping Korean Air by launching Seoul flights
As of March 29, 2026, Virgin Atlantic will launch a new daily flight between London Heathrow (LHR) and Seoul Incheon (ICN). The flight is expected to operate with the following schedule:
VS208 London to Seoul departing 2:10PM arriving 10:30AM (+1 day)
VS209 Seoul to London departing 12:20PM arriving 6:50PM
The 5,520-mile flight is blocked at 12hr20min eastbound and 14hr30min westbound. That flight time is way longer than you’d expect based on the distance, and that’s because of the need to avoid Russian airspace, meaning the flight will operate with a rather roundabout routing.
Virgin Atlantic will use a Boeing 787-9 for the route, featuring 258 seats. This includes 31 business class seats, 35 premium economy seats, and 192 economy seats. Unfortunately this features the carrier’s rather outdated cabins, though these planes should be getting an overhaul as of 2028.
The backstory of this route is interesting, since these plans were first announced nearly three years ago, in early 2023. By launching this route, Virgin Atlantic is picking up additional slots at London Heathrow, and is helping Korean Air. Wait, how would Virgin Atlantic be helping Korean Air by competing against the airline head-to-head?
We recently saw Korean Air and Asiana finalize their merger, which was years in the making. The airlines faced some regulatory challenges, as governments of several countries needed to sign off on this merger. The UK was one country where Korean Air had been facing some challenges, as the Competition and Markets Authority pushed back against the merger.
The concern was that Asiana and Korean Air were the only airlines flying between the UK and South Korea, so if the airlines merged, there would be no competition in the market. This would be bad for consumers, and it would be bad for the movement of cargo between the countries.
The UK and Korean Air ended up coming to the following agreement:
- Korean Air has to make seven weekly London Heathrow slot pairs available to Virgin Atlantic
- Virgin Atlantic can use those slot pairs to launch flights between London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon
Will Virgin Atlantic’s Seoul Incheon route last?
Nowadays Virgin Atlantic’s route network to Asia is pretty limited. The airline flies to India year-round, to the Maldives (and soon Phuket) seasonally, and also has a new route to Riyadh, as part of a partnership with Riyadh Air.
However, we’ve seen Virgin Atlantic cancel just about all other eastbound long haul flights. We’re not just talking about the cancelation in recent years of flights to Islamabad, Lahore, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv, but going back further than that, the airline used to fly to destinations like Hong Kong and Tokyo.
I can’t imagine that Virgin Atlantic would have otherwise launched flights to Seoul, but I can see how the logic adds up here:
- When you’re an airline with a hub at Heathrow, one of the biggest challenges is acquiring slots to grow; if you’re given slots to operate a route, that’s a big incentive to consider
- Virgin Atlantic is a member of SkyTeam, and at least has the benefit of having connectivity in South Korea, thanks to the partnership with Korean Air
- Delta owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, and also has a transpacific joint venture with Korean Air, so getting the merger approved was in Delta’s best interest
So while this route doesn’t seem like one that Virgin Atlantic would have otherwise independently operated, given the circumstances, I can see how this makes sense.
Still, I’m curious to see if it lasts in the long run. Here’s where it gets interesting. The terms of the deal allow Virgin Atlantic to keep the slots and use them for other routes, as long as the Seoul service is maintained for at least three years. So I think it’s safe to assume the service will last for three years, but will it last for longer than that?
Virgin Atlantic has limited aircraft and doesn’t have plans to grow its fleet that much, so utilizing planes as efficiently as possible is even higher of a priority than at other airlines.
Frankly, I’m skeptical about the long term viability of this route. Virgin Atlantic’s 787s just don’t have a competitive hard product (at least until 2028 at the earliest), and for connectivity beyond Seoul, most people would rather fly a Gulf carrier via the Middle East, an Asian carrier known for top service, etc.
Bottom line
Virgin Atlantic will be launching daily flights between London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon as of March 2026. The UK was raising concerns about the merger between Korean Air and Asiana, given the lack of air service competition between the two countries.
With Virgin Atlantic now agreeing to operate this route in exchange for the slots needed to do so, this seems like a win-win-win. Virgin Atlantic only has to maintain this service for three years, and can then utilize the slots for other routes.
I’m skeptical as to whether the route will last beyond the three years, given Virgin Atlantic’s struggles with eastbound flights that don’t connect into the North America network.
What do you make of Virgin Atlantic launching flights to Seoul?