Virgin Atlantic to launch daily direct flights between Riyadh and London
The daily flight service will start in March next year…
Fliers, take note. Virgin Atlantic has announced its newest long-haul destination.
As of Sunday March 30, 2025, the UK airline will be launching its Virgin flights (literally) between King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and London Heathrow.
The nonstop service from Riyadh to London Heathrow will take six hours and 50 minutes, and it will be served by the state-of-the-art A330neo, Virgin Atlantic’s newest aircraft and one of the most fuel-efficient in its fleet.
VS242 will depart from London Heathrow at 2.45pm local time and touch down in Riyadh at 11.35pm, while VS243 flights out of the Saudi capital will depart at 1.25am, getting you to London at 7am.
With the daily London service, this means there will be 14 direct flights per week to and from the capital of the United Kingdom.
This will be the first ever Virgin Atlantic’s flights to Saudi Arabia.
Jet off in style
The in-flight experience is all about giving guests a comfortable and game-changing experience. The Virgin Atlantic A330neo offers 32 fully flat beds in Upper Class, 46 seats in Premium cabins, as well as 184 Economy seats with three tiers – Delight, Classic and Light.
There’s a gorgeous new addition to its Upper Class cabin, known as The Retreat Suite, which is its largest ever business class seat. It consists of two exclusive suites at the front of the cabin, with lots of extra space, huge storage, bigger screens, and the ability for customers to create their own private onboard social space.
With ottomans that double up as extra seats, up to four people can comfortably dine, chat, play games and more. Customers can have an intimate dinner or settle into a movie for some private time. There’s also a place for everything, shoes and even a mirror. Not to mention a fully closing privacy door, wireless charging and personal in-suite mood lighting.
Meanwhile, the onboard social space, The Loft, is an exclusive spot for Upper Class travellers to come together. With space for eight people, and four comfy seats, passengers can sit and chat, grab a drink or snack from the self-service fridge-freezer, connect Bluetooth headphones to the touchscreens – or just enjoy a change of scene mid-flight.
Best of all, Upper Class fliers can enjoy a private security channel at London Heathrow, the world-famous Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and a Revivals lounge for those who would like to freshen up before heading into London.
Even the Premium and Economy cabins are beautifully designed with plenty of storage, offering comfort for everyone. There’s a focus on tech, too, with intuitive touchscreen entertainment and Bluetooth audio. Oh, did we mention there’s an in-seat wireless charger in the Premium seat?
Flight tickets for the Riyadh-London route have not gone on sale yet, but you can soon book tickets directly on the Virgin Atlantic website.
Images: Supplied