VIRGIN Atlantic Airways said it will launch a second London-Cape Town service using an Airbus Industrie A340 with effect from October 29. The new service which departs Heathrow at 1700 on Sundays and arrives at 0600 the next day will also allow cargo to be cleared and delivered on the Monday. Virgin Atlantic chairman, Richard Branson said the carrier would like to operate daily services to Cape Town and is hoping to gain extra frequencies on the route in 2001, while cargo director, John Lloyd added that the second Cape Town service will extend cargo capacity for European freight agents into southern Africa. The carrier is also boosting capacity to Johannesburg from end October by switching the Sunday and Friday flights to a Boeing 747-400, while an A340 will continue to be used for the remainder of the week. – Reuters
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