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A Virgin Atlantic A330 in Manchester (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
Virgin Atlantic is introducing new stops to Manchester airport (MAN) in northwest England from San Francisco starting next spring.
Operating three times weekly between March and October, Virgin Atlantic will be the first carrier to provide nonstop flights between San Francisco and Manchester, where a thriving music scene, gritty industrial architecture, and emerging tech community will have a variety to offer visitors. Manchester is located near the scenic Lake District, the historic walled city of York, or Liverpool, home of the Beatles.
Both flights will use Virgin’s newest A330 aircraft with Upper Class (lie-flat business), Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
What’s somewhat strange about this announcement is that it’s come so early. Nonstops between SFO and Manchester won’t start for another year (currently slated for March 28, 2017)– and a lot can happen in a year!
Related: New York to London on the Concorde! (Trip Report)
In any case, a nonstop to Manchester will be a relief for those weary of flying to London’s busy airports:
- Currently, British Airways, United and Virgin offer nonstop flights to London Heathrow.
- In June, Norwegian Air will offer nonstops from Oakland to London Gatwick for as little as $299 each way.
- British Airways adds new nonstops from San Jose to London Heathrow this June.
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Interesting insight. The politics of air travel! It would be nice to think that there’s room for both.
Awesome news!
VS is replacing their A346 on the SFO route by Autum and both flights will be on a 789.
Thomas Cook announced a SFO-MAN last month and it was loaded in GDS. Within the last week, they canceled the flight along with frequency reductions to all their flights to the US. I believe VS announced this flight to stop Thomas Cook to rethink their decision.
Virgin only uses the 787 on one of its flights to Heathrow; the other is on a very old A340 (it even flies the old livery). Hopefully they will replace it with one of the updated aircraft, but until then it makes sense to take the later flight.
Of the three incumbents, Virgin Atlantic is by far the best option to LHR… it is flown exclusively on brand new Boeing 787 aircraft (British Airway’s A380 service is only available part of each week and only on one flight per day… United’s service isn’t even worth mentioning except to point out how far behind its old, tired 747’s have become). Virgin Atlantic’s premium economy is more or less the same as domestic business class… lack of luggage priority was the only difference I noticed when I flew them eariler this month. You get check-in priority, wider seats, more seat pitch, real meals served with glasses and silverware, unlimited snacks and juice and plenty of attention from the flight attendants. You know what United’s Economy Plus gets you on SFO-LHR? Three inches of seat pitch. That’s _WORTHLESS_.
The A330 is a popular aircraft, but it’s a generation behind the 787.
$299 OW on Norwegian…how far this industry has come…