A route to watch: Virgin Atlantic business class for 75K + $120 from the Maldives to London (via Delta)

While doing some searches, Stephen noticed a cool new award option in the wild: Virgin Atlantic will begin flying between the Maldives and London. While Virgin Atlantic flying Club charges 67,500 miles and $550 from Male to London, Stephen found that Delta SkyMiles is charging just 75,000 miles and $120. There are only a few dates of availability right now, but this could be a good route to watch if you’ve always wanted to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. While it is not the most incredible deal (and it still leaves you a transatlantic flight away from the United States), it represents a rare chance to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class without the huge surcharges.

The Deal

• Delta SkyMiles is offering Virgin Atlantic Upper Class (business class) from Male, Maldives to London Heathrow (LHR) for 75K miles and $120 when available (which isn’t much right now, but it’s worth keeping an eye on it).

Quick Thoughts

Virgin Atlantic only recently announced service to the Maldives as of October 2023. Awards are hard to come by right now (I only found 3 dates available in October and November), but when available Virgin Atlantic charges 67,500 miles and $530 one-way from the Maldives to London in Upper Class.

But very interestingly, when available to partners, Delta is charging just 75K miles and $120. You’ll see below that it’s 75,000 miles plus 1,844 MVR (Maldivian currency). At the current exchange rate at the time of writing, that’s about $120.

That’s not an amazing value in a vacuum, particularly when you consider that American charges just 42,500 miles (and only taxes, no surcharges) for Qatar or Etihad business class between the Maldives and London. That said, flying Qatar or Etihad would mean having to connect. More importantly I imagine, this represents a rare opportunity to fly Virgin Atlantic Upper Class without paying exorbitant surcharges. It’s also a somewhat rare opportunity to get solid value out of Delta SkyMiles. And with four seats available on the example date shown above, it would be possible to fly a family together.

Unfortunately, availability is really really really sparse right now, but it’s good to know to keep an eye on Delta for this should it fit into your plans.

In the opposite direction, you’d be on the hook for the UK Air Passenger Duty, so the best deal is from Male, Maldives (MLE) to London Heathrow (LHR).

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