Virgin Atlantic hopes to expand its business in South Africa with year-round flights between the UK and Cape Town.
Speaking at an event at the British consulate in Cape Town recently, CEO Shai Weiss said the airline was impressed with how South Africa’s economy was recovering after numerous challenges, including the Covid pandemic and the global lockdown.
“The economic growth is stunning,” Weiss said. “The changes that I have seen are unbelievable … We really, really love serving you on our planes.”
The airline was founded in 1984 by pilot Alan Hellary and lawyer Randolph Fields as British Atlantic Airways, then renamed when it was sold to Virgin Group founder Richard Branson.
Like many airlines, Virgin Atlantic was rocked by the Covid pandemic, having to cut 3,000 staff and reducing its fleet from 45 aircraft to 35.
The airline has also faced challenges with obtaining engines for its Boeing 787 fleet. As a result, it has had to change some of its scheduled flights and postpone the launch of new international routes.
Virgin Atlantic resumed flights from Heathrow to Cape Town late in 2022, after the service was scrapped in 2015 following a review of the airline’s network. The airline has regular flights from Heathrow to Johannesburg and seasonal flights to Cape Town.
Weiss said Virgin was keen to introduce an all-year service to Cape Town, it would be a long process and would not happen before 2027. He said this would depend on the company’s ability to secure enough engines.
“[After] years of serving Cape Town … and Joburg, we say that we see the world differently … We have a problem with some of the engines that power the 787. I cannot magic up more engines, and as much as we would like to come here [all] year-round, it’s not happening in 2025. There is a very, very, very small chance in 2026, but if I were you, I would really lobby for 2027.”
Western Cape premier Alan Winde, who also attended the event at the consulate, said he hoped Virgin could boost its flight frequency as soon as possible.
“We’ve got some homework,” Winde said. “We need to make an appointment with Rolls-Royce because they need to get this engine thing sorted out so we can travel year-round by Virgin.”
I think we can say without any argumentation … Virgin Atlantic is just one of the UK’s ultimate, iconic, cool brands. They have been many, many years. They are cool, they are refined, [and] they are upper class without being up themselves.
— Antony Phillipson, British high commissioner
He said the Western Cape government understood the value of airlift services to the provincial and national economy, bringing tourists, investors and high-value cargo.
“In May, year-on-year, we had an 18% increase in underbelly [cargo] airlift. But up until July, it went up to 47%, I think it was. And it is unbelievable because that underbelly airlift is a high-value product and we want to see much more of that, and the only way we get that right is through year-round commitments.”
British high commissioner Antony Phillipson said Virgin Atlantic was a valued partner of the consulate and South Africa, providing support for events such as parliamentary receptions.
“I think we can say without any argument … Virgin Atlantic is just one of the UK’s ultimate, iconic, cool brands. They have been many, many years. They are cool, they are refined, [and] they are upper class without being up themselves.”
Meanwhile, the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (Fedhasa) said the tourism sector was on track this season to match the 2023/2024 summer travel numbers.
Fedhasa national chair Rosemary Anderson said establishments were reporting strong bookings, and many hotels had been fully booked between Christmas and New Year.
According to StatsSA, more than 3-million travellers were recorded at the country’s ports of entry between December 2023 and January 2024, two-thirds of them foreigners.
Most foreign tourists were from the UK, followed by the US and Germany.
Anderson said the sector had measures in place to ensure the safety of tourists over the festive season, in collaboration with local municipalities.
“The City of Cape Town has introduced several initiatives, including Travel-Wise safety tips for visitors and a summer dashboard, which will provide weekly updates on the water quality at the city’s top beaches until the end of January,” she said.
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