Virgin Atlantic to make South American debut by serving Sao Paulo

Virgin Atlantic is to enter the South American market with a new route from London to Sao Paulo next year. The carrier says it will offer a daily service between Heathrow and Guarulhos with a Boeing 787 in a 5-class configuration. Virgin Atlantic will compete with British Airways and LATAM on the route. Virgin Atlantic says Brazil has a "booming tourism industry" which complements a "lucrative" business market. Sister company Virgin Holidays also intends to launch a full product offer within the country for the first time, it adds. Describing Brazil as South America's number-one import and export market, Virgin Atlantic predicts that London-Sao Paulo will be a "popular cargo route" on which the airline will carry regular shipments of car parts, pharmaceuticals, food and agricultural products. <br/>