Virgin to Retire Boeing 747 from Heathrow Next April

Virgin Atlantic has set a date for the final operation of its Boeing 747-400 aircraft out of London Heathrow next April.

The British airline’s final two 747 services at the London airport will operate from Heathrow to both Miami and New York’s JFK, with the return, and final flights landing on April 18, 2015.

Virgin currently has twelve B747’s in service, seven of which are based at London Gatwick, which will see their lease agreements expire in 2019.

The aircraft will continue service on the airline’s Glasgow – Orlando twice weekly link, as well as the airline’s London Gatwick services to Havana, Cancun, Las Vegas, Montego Bay and Orlando.

The remaining 747 routes include Manchester to Barbados, Las Vegas and Orlando, which operate once weekly, twice weekly and 11-times-weekly respectively.

The airline is currently considering a decision on replacement aircraft for its seven Boeing 747-400s based at London Gatwick from 2019. The Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and Boeing 777 are understood to feature in the airline’s thinking.

The airline received its first Boeing 787-9 in October and now has five of the aircraft out of a total of 17 Dreamliners. The B787-9’s first route was a six-times weekly service from London Heathrow to Boston, and the airline now flies the aircraft to Los Angeles, Delhi, New York JFK, Newark and Boston.

Poppy Marello

Poppy joined the Routesonline team after successfully completing a degree in journalism at Sheffield Hallam University. Poppy has a passion for…