Virgin Atlantic has adapted its onboard experience for its new flights from London Heathrow to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
It has created a dedicated ‘Riyadh core crew’ who have undertaken specialist training to become experts in Saudi culture.
The airline is also serving Arabic coffee as part of the pre-departure drinks service, alongside a selection of dates in the Upper and Premium cabins.
Halal meals are available throughout and the Travellers Prayer also plays before the safety video.
The new daily Riyadh service is expected to have a predominantly Saudi Arabian point of sale, which will see customers visiting the UK.
It also connects to 12 destinations throughout North America, on Virgin Atlantic and Delta networks, including Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston and Detroit.
Alongside business travellers, the route will serve the ‘visiting friends and family’ market, which has seen a fivefold increase in Saudis living in the UK between 2000 and 2018.
Meanwhile, for its five daily flights to India – one daily to Bengaluru, and twice daily to both Mumbai and Delhi – Virgin Atlantic has recently undertaken a recruitment drive for Indian-based crew.
This meant that each flight to India will now average three Indian crew on every flight speaking Hindi and local dialects.
UK-based cabin crew have also undergone cultural training to better understand and meet the needs of Indian customers.
A variety of new dishes have been introduced that “reflect the rich culinary heritage of India”, including vegetable korma with almond basmati, saag masala and naan, masala dosa, medu wada, spinach uttapam, sambhar and curry leaf chutney.
Passengers can also enjoy a selection of Indian movies, TV series and Bollywood albums on the inflight entertainment.
Virgin Atlantic has announced the launch of daily flights to Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea, next year.
Flights start from March 2026 and will be on Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
