Virgin Atlantic is to suspend its Heathrow-Chicago summer service.
In an email to the trade, Virgin said: "We need to let you know that we will be suspending our seasonal London Heathrow-Chicago O’Hare service from Summer 2017 (01 May).
"On the 17 December 2016 our automated rebooking system will begin re-protecting customers onto alternative flights."
Anyone wishing to rebook before December 17 can get a full refund or re-route via alternative US airports on other Virgin or Virgin/Delta codeshare routes with onward connections with Delta domestic flights.
Instead, Virgin said it would offer a third Heathrow-Los Angeles service for summer 2017.
Virgin issued a statement saying: "We’ve made the tough decision to end our seasonal London Heathrow – Chicago O’Hare International Airport service from summer 2017 onwards.
"Virgin Atlantic will be in touch with customers to rebook travel in the coming weeks, providing alternative options for reaching Chicago.
"Changes that we make to our network destinations are made in the best interest of Virgin Atlantic’s business and our customers, which focuses on placing the right aircraft on the right routes so that our customers receive the best experience possible.
"As a result of cancelling the summer seasonal London – Chicago service, we can offer a third seasonal daily service from London Heathrow to Los Angeles.
"The move reflects our efforts to optimise our network, particularly across the West Coast of the United States where we see demand growing among customers.
"This additional service will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner."
