If you really love to travel, chances are you’ve already explored much of Europe. Being just across the Channel, the Continent is pretty easy to get to, but going further afield can be a bit trickier. To get to east Asia you usually have to do a stopover or two (or pay through the nose for a ticket), but Virgin Atlantic is about to make it easier than ever to get to one very cool Asian city.
Virgin Atlantic’s new route will fly from London Heathrow to Seoul in South Korea. At present, the only providers who offer this journey nonstop are Korean Airlines and Asian Airlines, so Virgin throwing its planes in the ring will give consumers more choice about how they fly.
Virgin is partnered with several Asian carriers, which means that adding this route will also result in more connections to the rest of East Asia. It says that by going through Seoul, ‘customers will be able to connect to 15 cities… including the beautiful coastal city of Busan as well as Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Fukuoka, Okinawa and Hokkaido in Japan, Sydney and Brisbane in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in Vietnam and Hong Kong’.
Basically, a lot of the world is opened up from this single flight. And you know it will be an enjoyable journey: Virgin Atlantic was in AirlineRatings.com top 25 airlines in the world this February.
As if that wasn’t enough, we at Time Out named Seoul one of the best cities on Earth earlier this year. According to our local expert, Jocelyn Tan; ‘Seoul’s cultural renaissance has hit new heights in the past year… Seoulites are embracing the city’s rich storytelling heritage at indie bookstores and literary cafes like JinBuBooks.’ Tan also highlighted the city’s thriving culinary scene, with Michelin starred restaurants and local markets to boot.
The flights will take off from March 29 2026, with the first tickets going on sale on May 14 2025. Prices are currently unknown, but when they do go on sale, you’ll be able to buy them from Virgin’s website here.
Planes, trains, and automobiles
There’s always loads to catch up on in the world of British transport. For instance, did you see that Pegasus airline will now be flying from Bristol to Istanbul? Or that Jet2 is launching five new cheap routes from the UK to popular European holiday hotspots? Plus, airports could soon completely do away with boarding passes.
ICYMI: England’s tallest water tower is set to reopen as a tourist attraction after a multimillion-pound revamp.
Plus: One of the world’s most walkable cities is in the UK.
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