Virgin Atlantic and WestJet have announced an expansion to their planned codeshare agreement to strengthen business, leisure, and visiting friends-and-family connections between Canada and the UK. The current agreement, which will allow for convenient onward connections for travelers flying from Canada to India via London, will see a range of enhancements in the coming months as the two carriers develop stronger ties to improve competition in the UK-to-Canada market.
Virgin Atlantic will re-launch its Toronto route in March 2025, offering a springboard for the codeshare agreement to commence in full. Having previously served the Canadian city on separate occasions in the past, the recommencement of services to Toronto also marks the return of Virgin Atlantic to any destination in Canada for more than a decade.
The new service between London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ) will operate on a mix of aircraft including the carrier’s Airbus A330neo and will reinforce the airline’s commitment to the Indian subcontinent and its third-largest market with optimal onward connectivity for Canadians traveling to Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru, as well as Dubai, the Maldives, Cape Town, and Johannesburg via London Heathrow.
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The first phase of the newly expanded agreement will allow customers booking through Virgin Atlantic to seamlessly connect from their preferred origin city on a WestJet flight via Toronto onwards to London with Virgin Atlantic on a single ticket. Canadian cities linked via the codeshare will include Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and more.
Additionally, under the expansion plans unveiled on February 18, 2025, the two airlines will co-locate in Terminal 3 at Toronto Airport where Virgin Atlantic says it will partner with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to support customer connections onwards via eligible cities under the codeshare agreement. Being under one terminal roof will allow customers traveling between the carriers to have their luggage transferred between flights by the respective airlines.
“Canada is an incredibly important opportunity for Virgin Atlantic as many of our customers travel between the Great White North, the UK, India, and beyond,” said Juha Jarvinen, EVP and Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic. “This expanded partnership with WestJet, alongside our partners at Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM, will create seamless connectivity for our customers via our new route launching between Toronto and London.”
“Our codeshare agreement with WestJet aims to respond to a continued demand for travel to the UK and India from across the region. Canadian customers can expect a premium, personalized experience at every step of the journey, delivered by our amazing people, the red thread that sets us apart,” Jarvinen added.
“We are thrilled to enhance our partnership with Virgin Atlantic and support their return to Canada,” commented John Weatherill, Executive Vice-President and Chief Commercial Officer at WestJet. “As part of this expansion, we are excited to welcome guests from across Virgin Atlantic’s global network by providing connectivity across Canada with WestJet.”
“This expanded codeshare will simplify travel and deliver a more seamless experience for our shared guests. We look forward to building closer ties in the months ahead, providing more options to connect Canada with the world,” Weatherill concluded.
New 2025 routes aplenty
Toronto will become one of four new destinations for Virgin Atlantic in 2025 when the new services commence. Additionally in March 2025, the carrier will launch daily flights between London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia using Airbus A330neos. Services to Accra in Ghana will follow in May 2025 using Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
Later in October 2025, Virgin Atlantic will complete its route expansion for the year with a three-times-weekly service between London and Cancun in Mexico using Airbus A350-1000s, becoming the only airline to offer direct flights on the route.
