Virgin Atlantic has relaunched flights between Manchester and Las Vegas almost five years after discontinuing the route. The British carrier will operate three weekly flights between the two cities onboard its Airbus A350-1000s.

Virgin restarts Manchester-Las Vegas service

The airline's first flight between Manchester Airport (MAN) and Las Vegas' Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in almost five years touched down last w, arriving in Sin City just after midday following a morning departure from Manchester. The thrice-weekly route will be served by Virgin's modern fleet of Airbus A350-1000s, the largest variant in the aircraft family and Virgin's new flagship aircraft.

The service is the only nonstop route connecting Manchester to the US West Coast, with Manchester also becoming the second UK city to benefit from a direct connection to Las Vegas alongside London. Virgin Atlantic and British Airways (BA) fly to Vegas from London's primary airport, London Heathrow Airport (LHR), while BA also operates a seasonal service from London Gatwick Airport (LGW).

Additionally, Norse Atlantic Airways is due to launch a new seasonal route from Gatwick this September. Interestingly, Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus recently announced plans to fly between Dublin and Las Vegas this fall - the airline will launch a thrice-weekly service from October 25th through to April 29, 2025.

Virgin previously served this route in the pre-pandemic era but operated its final flight in October 2019, with the ensuing COVID pandemic the following year preventing the route's resumption. The carrier now flies to four US destinations out of Manchester, also serving Atlanta (ATL), New York JFK (JFK) and Orlando (MCO).

A350-1000 service

Travelers can look forward to flying onboard one of Virgin's impressive A350-1000 aircraft for this approximately 10-hour trip, featuring business (or Upper Class), premium economy and economy cabins. The full schedule is as follows:

The carrier inducted its first A350-1000s in August 2019, just weeks before it discontinued its Vegas route the following October. Fares for this service have been on sale since last summer, with prices for economy roundtrips starting at £856 ($1,087).