Virgin Atlantic Cargo is delighted to announce the launch of its new Dubai service which began March 27. The direct flight between Heathrow and Dubai will operate four flights a week from March 27, 2006, increasing to five a week from May 1 and daily from June 1.

Flights to Dubai will depart from Heathrow at 21.00, arriving into Dubai International Airport at 07.10 the following morning. Return flights depart Dubai at 14.35, arriving into Heathrow at 19.10 the same day.

The route will be operated by both A340-300 and A340-600 aircraft. Michelle House, Virgin Atlantic Cargo's Commercial Manager commented "The 600 series in particular offers excellent cargo uplift and we anticipate carrying between 15 and 30 tons per flight".

"The Dubai market is sizeable in both directions and we already have a strong presence as an off-line basis, where we have been served very well by our longstanding GSA Airline Cargo Resources," she stated. "Dubai is a leading air cargo hub, both in its own right and as a major transhipment point between Europe and the Far East."

"This is a dynamic market from both a passenger and cargo perspective and is one of many destinations we had earmarked for our future growth. We accept that there is a considerable amount of capacity already available between London and Dubai, however we are looking forward to offering 1st class competition on the route and doing it the Virgin way."

"We have already seen strong interest from shippers and forwarders, both in the UK and Dubai and we anticipate revenues in excess of '6 million during the first 12 months of operation" she added.