While flying in the face of the ordinary might be their tagline, Virgin Atlantic is adapting to these extraordinary times with suitable measures. Take for example a complimentary COVID-19 insurance with every booking. This £500,000 (over Rs 4.7 crore) cover includes emergency medical costs and associated expenses as well as repatriation if a customer is denied boarding or held in quarantine. Virgin Atlantic has said that this is the highest insurance cover offered by any airline till date.
What’s more is that this insurance will cover the costs of a passenger falling ill with COVID-19 even if they travel to another destination on a partner airline or on a ticket bought on virginatlantic.com.
The new air bubble arrangement between India and UK allows travel between the two countries and airlines are resuming operations as well. Virgin Atlantic will resume its operations to India from next month and this insurance will apply to all existing and new bookings. Last month, Emirates had announced a similar COVID-19 insurance package for flyers with a cover of EUR 150,000 (over Rs1.3 crore). This is an attempt by airlines to reassure passengers and get them to start flying again.
“Following our return to the skies to much-loved destinations like Barbados, we’re planning more services, as travel restrictions continue to ease, including London Heathrow to Delhi, Mumbai, Lagos and Tel Aviv. Whether it’s to visit friends and relatives or take a well-deserved break, we believe this complimentary cover will provide some added reassurance for our customers as they start to plan trips further afield,” said Juha Jarvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Virgin Atlantic in a statement.
This insurance is the latest add-on being offered to passengers. The airline had introduced a flexible booking policy allowing customers to make up to two flight changes without any change fees up to September 2022.
