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Virgin Atlantic to reduce upper class fares

9 Jan 2009

Virgin Atlantic is set to make an attempt to secure its premium passengers by reducing its fares for premium services, according to reports.

The airline is expected to cut its business class fares by as much as 40% as it continues to grapple with British Airways (BA), its main rival, in the UK aviation market.

Return flights to New York in business class are expected to be reduced by 40% to £1,099, while services to Boston will be available from £1,199, representing a price cut of 38%.

BA is expected to follow suit by reducing its business class prices, despite stating in the past that it is opposed to cut-price premium services, according to Reuters.

Cheaper business class flights could provide a welcome boost for the airline, which recently announced that it saw a 12.1 per cent fall in its premium passenger numbers in December 2008.

At the end of last year, BA predicted that Cape Town, Johannesburg, Dubai, San Francisco and New York would be its top ten long-haul destinations in 2009.

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