Bits: Virgin launches Boston and San Francisco from Manchester, Virgin / Flybe codeshares

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News in brief:

Virgin Atlantic to launch two new routes from Manchester

In a surprising but welcome move, Virgin Atlantic is to launch new routes to Boston and San Francisco from Manchester.

You will need to wait a while before you can fly as these routes will only launch with the Summer 2017 timetable. This implies late March 2017.

San Francisco will operate three times per week together with two weekly flights to Boston.

Both routes will use (presumably the same) Airbus A330 in a three class configuration.

Existing Virgin routes from Manchester are Atlanta, Las Vegas, Orlando and Barbados. Virgin partner and 49% shareholder Delta also operates a New York service from the airport.

You can read more on the Manchester Evening News site.

Virgin to codeshare with Flybe

Separately, Virgin Atlantic has announced a codeshare agreement with Flybe. This will allow passengers to book Flybe connections to Virgin Atlantic flights on a single ticket, with baggage checked through.

Full details of the twenty Flybe routes included, covering Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester, can be found here on the Virgin Atlantic website.

It seems unlikely that you will be able to earn or redeem Virgin Flying Club miles with Flybe given their existing partnership with Avios.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2021)

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, one has a bonus of 15,000 points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending 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:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points:

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

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

(Want to earn more Virgin Points? Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)

Category

Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Steve says:

31 Mar31 March 09:48

Bought four cartridges early this morning. Just had an email from Tesco saying they can’t fulfill half of the order…
- Steve says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 10:00
  
  Update: another email saying they can’t fulfil another cartridge. Tesco are utterly useless.
  - TimS says:
    
    31 Mar31 March 11:47
    
    Wait a couple of days and you should be able to pick up the ink pretty cheaply on ebay (minus the clubcard points of course!)
    
    If you actually need the ink this is probably an even better deal for you!
Janice Edgar says:

31 Mar31 March 10:18

Steve. Same here. Annoyingly I actually did need this ink!
- wetboy1uk says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 10:49
  
  You seem to be annoyed by the fact Tesco have no more stock. Don’t blame Tesco – its the fault of the greedy individuals who only buy the inks to gain clubcard points. Isn’t the incentive from Tesco so that they sell them? Sometimes they just can’t seem to win with some people!
  - Steve says:
    
    31 Mar31 March 12:09
    
    I think it’s a bit harsh saying that people taking Tesco up on their offers are greedy. And the point is that they should have a proper inventory management system that knows how many items they have to sell and then stops selling them when they’ve all been ordered!
    - wetboy1uk says:
      
      31 Mar31 March 12:26
      
      They are greedy, same as when there are offers on printers. Some people buy loads just to sell on ebay and get the clubcard points – is this not greed or am I just from a different culture?
      - Roberto says:
        
        31 Mar31 March 13:28
        
        People buy stuff and then sell it? Wow ….
        
        News Flash, that not greed, its called business. The fact that they make a profit (or loss) on the transaction AND get clubcard vouchers does not come into it , its hardly greedy – its only the same as every other retailer out there.
        
        Now bankers on the other hand……….
      - Steve says:
        
        31 Mar31 March 13:33
        
        So presumably you object to Tesco, which buys products from suppliers and then sells it on to its customers, making a profit in the process?
      - Genghis says:
        
        31 Mar31 March 17:22
        
        Not greed, just ‘business’.
  - Janice Edgar says:
    
    1 Apr1 April 11:48
    
    No- not at all annoyed that Tesco have no more stock- was annoyed that they were pretending that they had no stock but were still advertising them for sale on the website. Anyway, got them today when I submitted another order and had it confirmed.
Chris says:

31 Mar31 March 11:46

Just a quick one that today is the last day to book any remaining free journeys you have from the old East Coast Rewards programme.

There is also a 20% off advance for east coast on virgin red today.
Pol says:

31 Mar31 March 12:08

I was hoping the new routes may mean a clubhouse, due to the number of destinations now served from Manchester. But alas, according to their Twitter there are no plans at present. Seems silly that IAD has one but MAN doesn’t.
- gumshoe says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 12:15
  
  There’s speculation on V-Flyer that a Clubhouse is planned for MAN for 2018, as part of the airport expansion.
- James says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 14:31
  
  Will have to wait for the new terminal!
signol says:

31 Mar31 March 13:10

So they’re not including the BE MAN-NWI flight? Shame.
- trickster says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 23:00
  
  Possibly due to it being Loganair?
Damian says:

31 Mar31 March 16:30

Will the taxes and other charges from Manchester be lower than Heathrow with Virgin?
- Pol says:
  
  31 Mar31 March 18:40
  
  Probably, but not by much. Upper to Atlanta is about £25 cheaper from Manchester than Heathrow.
Graeme says:

31 Mar31 March 21:14

Ever-so-slightly OT…. Saint Helena is getting an airport! Comair will be running the service, so does that mean there might be redemption seats available???
Geoff Foster says:

2 Apr2 April 10:26

Tried to buy HP ink from Tesco on Thursday – order cancelled, tried again this morning (Sat) and same thing happened. Have spoken to customer services who tell me inks are ‘Long term out of stock’!!!!