Save up to £40 on fares to New York with Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic recently revamped their economy offering, which now consists of three fare types; 

• Economy Light: Hand Baggage only fare with seats assigned at check-in, cannot be upgraded to Premium Economy with miles
  
• Economy Classic: Current Economy fare with the ability to pre-select seats and with checked luggage included, can be upgraded to Premium Economy with miles
  
• Economy Delight: Extra legroom (34″ pitch), free seat selection at any time, priority check-in and priority boarding, can be upgraded to Premium Economy with miles

The move allows them to offer cheaper fares in the Economy Light bracket in order to compete with low cost long-haul carriers, such as Norwegian, Wow Air, and Primera Air.

Hot on the heels of this revamp comes a new offer: Save up to £40 on fares to New York with Virgin Atlantic. The offer value depends on the type of economy fare you're booking. An Economy Light return trip, you'll get £10 off and on Economy Classic return trips you will get £40 off. There is no saving on Economy Delight.

Is this a good deal?

Let's take a look at a few direct comparisons. We'll plan a long weekend trip to New York in June, leaving on a Thursday and returning Sunday. First, we'll consider the Economy Light offer:

London > New York / return / direct / hand luggage only / 21 June to 24 June 2018

• Primera Air £392 (no meal) from Stansted
  
• Norwegian £430 (no meal) from Gatwick
  
• Virgin Atlantic £549 (meal included) from Heathrow
  
• BA £633 (meal included) from Heathrow
  

The deal doesn't really cut it price-wise in this example. You'll get a meal with Virgin, and award winning customer service, but I'm not sure that would justify paying £157 over Primera or £119 over Norwegian. A case study on booking low cost New York flights via Norwegian can be found here.

However, things change if you want to take hold luggage:

London > New York / return / direct / checked luggage / 21 June to 24 June 2018

• Norwegian £529 (LowFare+ with 1 x 20kg bag, meal included) from Gatwick
  
• Virgin Atlantic £568 (1 x 23kg bag, meal included) from Heathrow
  
• BA £633 (1 x 23kg bag, meal included) from Heathrow
  
• Primera Air £638 (Comfort fare with 1 x 23kg bag, meal included) from Stansted
  

Primera drops out of the running. The difference between Norwegian and Virgin is small enough, at £39, to steer me towards the superior customer service of Virgin Atlantic.

My verdict? Better deals are to be had at the Economy Light level, but if you need to take a checked bag, £40 off Economy Classic VA fares is a good deal.

Note that you must book by 17th May 2018 for travel before 27th October 2018. The special offer page can be found here. 

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Important: Prices are correct at the time of publishing, however they are subject to change at any time depending on availability. Some promotional prices will be strictly limited by tour operators or airlines. Special terms and conditions may apply.

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