VIRGIN ATLANTIC TO ADD SECOND CAPE TOWN FREQUENCY

Virgin Atlantic will introduce a second frequency per week between London and Cape Town from 29 October 2000. Both it and Virgin’s current Cape Town service will operate from Heathrow using an Airbus A340 aircraft.

Richard Branson, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic Airways, welcomed the news:

“By offering an extra frequency Virgin can compete more effectively with our rivals on this route which will ultimately benefit passengers. Cape Town is an important route for Virgin Atlantic with a huge tourist market and increasingly significant business traffic. Ultimately we would love to operate a daily service to Cape Town and are hoping to gain extra frequencies next year.”

Virgin’s current weekly service departs from Heathrow on Fridays at 17:05. From 29 October both this service and the new Sunday service will depart Heathrow at 17:00 and will arrive in Cape Town at 06:00 the following day. Both will depart Cape Town on Saturdays and Monday at 08:20 and will arrive at London Heathrow at 19:35 on the same day.

In addition to the increased capacity on the Cape Town market provided by this second weekly service, from 29 October Virgin Atlantic will also be adding almost 300 additional seats on its Johannesburg service by using a Boeing 747-400 aircraft on Sunday and Friday flights from London. On the remaining days of the week the London – Johannesburg route will continue to be operated using an Airbus A340.