Virgin Atlantic partners with EasyJet to feed Manchester flights

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. will form a partnership with EasyJet Plc linking its long-haul network with the discount specialist’s European flights via connections in Manchester, northern England.

By joining the “Worldwide by EasyJet” program, Virgin Atlantic aims to attract passengers making journeys such as Geneva to New York and Malaga, Spain, to Orlando, Florida, the carriers said in a joint statement Wednesday. The pact will focus on Manchester but also include transfers in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Virgin also has a handful of flights.

Unlike long-haul rivals such as British Airways, Crawley, England-based Virgin Atlantic has no short-haul network of its own to help feed passengers onto its services. The carrier previously offered connections with EasyJet at London’s Gatwick airport, before suspending operations there when the coronavirus crisis led to a collapse in demand for travel.

The EasyJet deal comes with business travel still in the doldrums and the transatlantic market in which Virgin Atlantic specializes focused more on price-sensitive passengers making leisure trips or visiting friends and relatives.

EasyJet doesn’t operate from Virgin Atlantic’s main base at London Heathrow.