BA and Virgin Atlantic set to cash in as UK-US travel returns to pre-pandemic levels
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic look set to cash in as departures from the UK to the US are set to return to pre-pandemic levels this month, new data shows.
Departures from the UK to the US are set to hit 99 per cent of 2019 levels this month, according to new data from the aviation analytics firm Cirium.
British Airways is anticipating the highest share of travel boom, taking in 31 per cent of the bookings, transatlantic bookings, while Virgin Atlantic is set to get 16 per cent, Cirium said.
The findings come after the US announced that it would scrap Covid-vaccination requirements for international air travellers this month, finally dropping all entry restrictions since the pandemic.
“The relaxation of Covid-19 requirements last week makes visiting the US even easier and will provide a boost to transatlantic customer demand as a busy summer approaches,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said.
According to Cirium’s data, the most popular destinations for Brits in the US this May remain New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport followed by Los Angeles, Newark, Chicago and Boston.
A British Airways spokesperson said the airline is expecting a further boost this summer from its new routes to Cincinnati, Portland, Pittsburgh and New York.
British Airways’ owner IAG raised its annual forecasts earlier this month on the back of positive summer forecasts.