Virgin Atlantic adds a second daily Mumbai flight

Virgin Atlantic is adding a fifth daily flight to India with the addition of a second daily service to Mumbai, starting on 27th October 2024.

The flight is part of the airline’s increasing focus on India with 350% capacity growth since 2019, the year in which it re-launched flights to the country after a four year break. This week also saw the inaugural Virgin Atlantic flight to Bengaluru.

The new flight is enabled by a new air service agreement between the UK and India which increases the number of weekly flights between London Heathrow and Delhi and Mumbai from 56 to 70 (ie 10 per day). Additional British Airways flights to Delhi are also expected.

Timings are as follows:

• VS358 departs Heathrow at 11:15 and arrives in Mumbai at 1:55am the following day
• VS359 departs Mumbai at 4:10am and arrives in Heathrow at 8:55am the same day

The new service will be the only flights to India operated by Virgin Atlantic’s A350 fleet. This is a major improvement over the increasingly ancient ‘coffin class’ business class seat found on the Boeing 787s. In this case, it is being operated by an A350-1000 in the ‘leisure’ configuration, which features The Booth rather than The Loft social space.

Virgin Atlantic expects to use an average of four Indian cabin crew on each flight to assist with Indian passengers.

You can connect easily onto 36 other Indian destinations via Virgin Atlantic’s codeshare agreement with local airline IndiGo.

Flights go on sale on Wednesday 10th April.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.