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Virgin Atlantic Airways
File:Virgin Atlantic Airways Logo.png
IATA ICAO Call sign
VS VIR VIRGIN
Founded1984
Commenced operations22 June 1984
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer programFlying Club
Fleet size39
Destinations35
Parent companyVirgin Group
HeadquartersCrawley, United Kingdom
Key people
RevenueIncrease £2,700 million (12 months to 28 February 2011)[2]
Operating incomeIncrease £18.5 million (12 months to 28 February 2011)[2]
Websitewww.virgin-atlantic.com

Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited (operating as Virgin Atlantic) is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%).[3] It's headquarters are in Crawley, West Sussex, England, near Gatwick Airport.

It operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its bases at Gatwick Airport and London Heathrow Airport using a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing widebodied jets. In 2011, Virgin Atlantic carried 5.3 million passengers,[4] making it the eighth largest UK airline based on passenger numbers. In the year to February 2010, the airline made an annual operating loss of £132 million on turnover of £2,357 million.[2]

History

Conception and birth

Boeing 747–100 at Dublin Airport in 1994

Randolph Fields, an American-born lawyer, and Alan Hellary, a former chief pilot for Laker Airways, set up British Atlantic Airways as a successor to Laker Airways.[5] Fields got the idea of an airline from London to the Falkland Islands in June 1982, when the Falklands War had just finished and there was need for a service.[6] Fields needed expertise and contacted Alan Hellary, Laker Airways' former chief pilot, who had thought about establishing a regular, commercial service to the Falklands at the same time. Hellary was in contact with colleagues out of work following the collapse of Laker Airways and they worked on the idea.

External image
image icon Alan Hellary, Richard Branson and Randolph Fields at the press launch of Virgin Atlantic Airways

However the short runway at Port Stanley Airport and the time to improve it made the scheme unviable, so the idea of the Falklands service was dropped. Instead, Hellary and Fields tried to secure a licence from Gatwick Airport to John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) in New York. A three-day inquiry in May 1983 rejected it after British Airways (BA), British Caledonian (BCal) and BAA objected.

Hellary and Fields then applied for a licence between Gatwick and Newark. It was planned that British Atlantic Airways would use a 380-seat DC-10 to fly to Newark.[5] However, faced with the prospect of direct competition from People Express, a post-deregulation "no frills" discount airline at Newark, they decided to secure more funding before proceeding.

Fields met Richard Branson at a party in Central London during which he proposed a business partnership. After protracted and testy negotiations, Fields agreed to a reduced stake of 25% in the airline (renamed Virgin Atlantic) and became first chairman. Following disagreements over operations, Fields agreed to be bought out for an initial sum of £1 million with further payment on Virgin's first dividend. As a result of a High Court action, this additional payment was received shortly before Fields' death from cancer in 1997.

Formative years

On 22 June 1984, Virgin Atlantic operated its inaugural scheduled service between Gatwick and Newark using a leased Boeing 747-200 (registration G-VIRG), christened Maiden Voyager,[5] formerly operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas. Part of Richard Branson's approach to business is to succeed within the first year or exit the market. This includes a one-year limit on everything associated with starting up.[7] Virgin Atlantic became profitable during the first 12 months, aided by sister company Virgin Records' ability to finance the lease of a second-hand Boeing 747. The firm timed operations to take advantage of a full summer, which included June to September – the most profitable period of the year.

In 1986, the airline added another Boeing 747 and started a scheduled route from Gatwick to Miami. Additional aircraft were acquired and routes launched from Gatwick to New York JFK (1988), Tokyo (1989), Los Angeles (1990), Boston (1991), and Orlando (1992). In 1987, a service was launched between Luton and Dublin using Viscount turboprop aircraft, but this was withdrawn around 1990. In 1988, Club Air operated two Boeing 727 jet aircraft on behalf of Virgin. These served the Luton to Dublin route until ca. 1990 as well.

Later years

In March 2000 Virgin Group sold 49% of the airline's holding company to Singapore Airlines for £600.25 million. Virgin Group still owns the remaining 51%.

In June 2002, Virgin Atlantic became the first airline to use the Airbus A340-600.

Airbus A340-300 at London Heathrow Airport in 2003, displaying "4 Engines 4 Longhaul" slogan

In 2003, Virgin Atlantic carried 3.8 million passengers.[8] This increased to 4.6 million in 2006, placing them seventh among UK airlines (second in terms of passenger-miles because of the long-haul nature of operations).[9] During the 2012 Summer Olympics bids, Virgin Atlantic attached London 2012 decals to the rear of many of their Boeing 747-400s.

On 31 October 2005, Virgin Atlantic operated a humanitarian aid charter flight to the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, with 55 tonnes of aid for the affected by the earthquake in Pakistan.[10]

Virgin volunteered a Boeing 747 for a test of biofuels. In February 2008, it flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, with no passengers, and 20% of power for one engine provided by plant-based biofuel. The airline said it expected to use biofuels based on algae.[11]

Future merger or sale

In November 2010, it was reported that Virgin Atlantic had appointed Deutsche Bank to begin a strategic review of options for the airline following the tie-up between British Airways and American Airlines.[12] By February 2011, it was confirmed that SkyTeam members Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines had appointed Goldman Sachs to advise them on a joint potential approach for Virgin Atlantic. Etihad Airways is also reported to be considering a deal,[13] and Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of International Airlines Group, stated that they would be interested in the airline, but only for the lucrative take-off and landing slots it holds at London Heathrow Airport.[14]

Corporate affairs

The Office, the head office building of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays in Crawley, West Sussex

Head office

Virgin Atlantic's head office, named The Office is located in the Business Quarter of Crawley, West Sussex, England, near Gatwick Airport.[15] The same building houses the corporate offices of Virgin Holidays.[16] Prior to the establishment of its current headquarters, Virgin Atlantic had its head office in Ashdown House on the High Street in Crawley.[17]

Rivalry with British Airways

Virgin Atlantic has been a rival of British Airways since inception, as British Airways had been the only airline from the United Kingdom serving long-haul routes to destinations in North America, the Caribbean and the Far East since the BA-BCal merger in the late 1980s.[18]

Opening up of Heathrow

Airbus A340-600 at London Heathrow Airport in 2008

In January 1991, the UK opened Heathrow Airport to Virgin when it abolished the London [Air] Traffic Distribution Rules (TDRs) in response to pressure from the industry. The London TDRs had come into effect in 1978, originally created to achieve a fairer distribution of traffic between Heathrow and Gatwick, the UK's two main international airports, to help Gatwick make a profit. The former rules stated airlines without an international scheduled service from Heathrow prior to 1 April 1977 would not be permitted operations there; instead they would have to use Gatwick. However, airlines that did not already operate at Heathrow were still able to commence domestic scheduled services there provided BAA, which ran both Heathrow and Gatwick on behalf of the Government, and the Secretary of State for Transport, granted permission.

The decision to open Heathrow to all newcomers in 1991 – other than those governed by Bermuda II – angered BA's chairman Lord King, who stopped British Airways' donations to the Conservative Party in protest. Lord King was furthermore angered by the subsequent decision of the CAA to transfer two pairs of unused slots British Airways held at Tokyo's Narita Airport to Virgin to let it increase its frequency between Heathrow and Tokyo from four to six weekly round-trips, making it easier for Virgin to compete against British Airways. Lord King called the CAA's decision, which the Government had endorsed, "a confiscation of his company's property".[19]

Precarious financial position during early 1990s

According to industry insiders, Virgin Atlantic had increasing financial problems. This was primarily the result of a reduction in demand for travel caused by the recession of the early 1990s as well as by fear to travel in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. Britain's Conservative Government, which had presided over the collapse of International Leisure Group (ILG) and its subsidiary Air Europe resulting in 4,000 job losses[18] was aware that Dan-Air was on the brink of bankruptcy, and wanted to avoid the collapse of another independent[nb 1] British airline, especially if its profile was as high as Virgin Atlantic's. The Government decided to let Virgin Atlantic into Heathrow despite facing opposition from British Airways.

"Dirty tricks" controversy

Two Airbus A340-600 at London Heathrow Airport in 2010

The decision to abolish the London TDRs and to let Virgin Atlantic operate at Heathrow in competition with British Airways became the trigger for BA's so-called "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin. In 1993 BA's PR director, David Burnside, published an article in BA News, British Airways' internal magazine, which argued that Branson's protests against British Airways were a publicity stunt. Branson sued British Airways for libel, using the services of George Carman QC. BA settled out of court when its lawyers found the lengths to which the company went to try to kill off Virgin. BA had to pay a legal bill of up to £3m, damages to Branson of £500,000 and a further £110,000 to his airline.[20] Branson donated the proceeds from the case to Virgin Atlantic staff.

In the 1990s, Virgin Atlantic jets were painted with "No-Way BA/AA" in opposition to the attempted merger between British Airways and American Airlines.

In 1997, following British Airways' announcement that it was to remove the Union Flag from its tailfins in favour of world images, Virgin introduced a Union Flag design on the winglets of its aircraft and changed the red dress on the Scarlet Lady on the nose of aircraft to the union flag with the tag line "Britain's Flag Carrier". This was a tongue-in-cheek challenge to BA's traditional role as the UK's flag carrier.[21]

"Although I did not have any direct contact with BA in relation to passenger fuel surcharges, I regret that, on becoming aware of the discussions, I did not take steps to stop them."

Steve Ridgway, CEO of Virgin Atlantic[22]

Relations with British Airways improved with the arrival of Rod Eddington as BA CEO though rivalry continued. Eddington replaced Robert Ayling, involved in the dirty tricks affair, who was dismissed by Lord Marshall, the long-serving BA chairman and Ayling's mentor, on behalf of BA's main institutional shareholders after BA had its first net loss since privatisation during Ayling's time during its 1999/2000 financial year.

In June 2006, a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led US and UK competition authorities to investigate alleged price-fixing between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways.[23] In August 2007, BA was fined £271 million by the UK's Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice though this was upheld on account of a guilty plea.[24] Virgin Atlantic was not fined as it was given immunity for reporting the cartel to regulators.

Price fixing allegations

In April 2010, a tip-off from Cathay Pacific led to the UK's Office of Fair Trading investigating alleged price-fixing between Virgin Atlantic and Cathay Pacific on flights to Hong Kong between 2002 and 2006. Cathay Pacific will benefit from immunity as long as they continue to cooperate with the authorities. A maximum fine if found guilty is 10% of turnover which based on the £2.5bn sales for the year to the February 2009 would be £250m.[25] At this stage, the competition authorities stressed that it should not be assumed that the parties involved have broken the law.[26][dead link‍]

Destinations

Main article: Virgin Atlantic destinations

Codeshare agreements

Airbus A340-600 at Tokyo Narita International Airport

Virgin Atlantic has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[27]

A Star Alliance member airline

Fleet

Airbus A330-300 Beauty Queen at Manchester Airport in 2011
Airbus A340 in maintenance

Virgin Atlantic's fleet uses both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with an average age of 9.6 years as of April 2012.[28] Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A330s are used on selected routes from Gatwick, Glasgow and Manchester, with the A330 being used on other flights as well. Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s are used interchangeably on all routes from Heathrow.

Virgin Atlantic has orders for Boeing 787–9 and Airbus A380-800 aircraft for delivery beginning 2014 and 2015, respectively. The A380 was expected in service in 2006 but was delayed until 2009 because of problems within Airbus. Virgin deferred its order to 2013, arguing it wanted the aircraft to prove itself before entering its own into operation.[29]

The order for 15 Boeing 787-9s, with options on eight more and purchase rights on 20 more, was announced on 24 April 2007. The aircraft will replace Virgin’s older A340-300s.[30] Virgin has listed Seattle, Vancouver, Bangkok, and Melbourne as possible destinations for the aircraft, saying the 787 would make possible non-stop operations from London to Perth, Australia and Honolulu, Hawaii.[31]

On 27 September 2006, Branson announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting aircraft weight and fuel consumption. There was also an experiment in 2007 in partnership with Boeing to have aircraft towed to the runway to save fuel, as a potential change to future operational procedures.[32]

Two Virgin Atlantic aircraft are featured in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. One Airbus A340-600 (G-VWIN) and one Boeing 747-400 - along with Branson and Virgin Atlantic crew — are part of a scene at Miami International Airport, although the sequence was filmed at Prague's Ruzyně International Airport.[33] Virgin Atlantic's relationship with the James Bond franchise continues in Quantum Of Solace, where James Bond and René Mathis travel to La Paz, Bolivia on board Virgin Atlantic, in Upper Class, although the airline has never flown to any destination within South America.

Virgin will be refitting all of the "leisure fleet" 747's commencing in April 2012. This will include a deep clean of upper class, installation of the Premium Economy "space seat" and a new economy seat. The IFE will also be replaced with the state of the art JAM system seen on the 330 fleet.[34]. After the upgrades virgin will then refit the two 2-class A330's into a 3-Class layout and station them at London Heathrow.[citation needed]

Virgin Atlantic’s fleet consists of the following aircraft as of April 2012:[35]

Aircraft Total Orders
[36][37] 		Options Passengers Notes
J W Y Total
Airbus A330-300 3 5[38] — — 59 255 314 Deliveries 2012
33 48 183 264
Airbus A340-300 4 — — 34 35 171 240 Out of service 2012/2013
Airbus A340-600 19 — — 45 38 225 308 4 aircraft to be phased out of the fleet from October 2012[39]
Airbus A380-800 — 6 6
TBA
Entry into service: 2015[40]
Boeing 747–400 13 — — 44 62 261 367
14 58 379 451
Boeing 787–9 — 15 8
TBA
Entry into service: 2014[40]
Total 39 26 14

Retired fleet

Airbus A320 at London Heathrow Airport in 1994

In the past, Virgin Atlantic has operated a variety of aircraft. The retired fleet includes:

Aircraft Active Notes
Airbus A320 1995–2004 Operated for Virgin Sun.
Airbus A321 2000–2003 Operated for Virgin Sun.
Boeing 747–100 1990–2000 G-VMIA named 'Spirit of Sir Freddie' after Sir Freddie Laker.
Boeing 747–200 1984–2005 G-VIRG was Virgin's first aircraft.

Marketing

Livery

Having used a "Eurowhite" design with red Virgin-branded tailfin, Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft were painted in a red and silver livery introduced in October 2006 with the delivery of G-VRED.

Boeing 747-400 Lady Penelope with her birthday girl repaint in 2009.

Near the nose of each aircraft is a pinup girl carrying a Union flag, designed by British artist Ken White, called Scarlet Lady. White modelled the motif on the World War II pin-ups of Alberto Vargas – hence the naming one of the fleet Varga Girl.[41]

Each aircraft has a name, usually feminine, such as Ladybird, Island Lady and Ruby Tuesday, but some are linked to registrations (e.g. G-VFIZ—Bubbles). There are a couple of commemorative names (e.g. G-VEIL—Queen of the Skies—which was named by Queen Elizabeth II on 7 April 2004 in celebration of the centenary of the Entente Cordiale). An exception is Spirit of Sir Freddie. An early Boeing 747, it was named in honour of Freddie Laker of Laker Airways, who helped Virgin Atlantic run following the demise of his own airline.

G-VFAB—Lady Penelope—gained a special livery to celebrate Virgin Atlantic’s 21st birthday. The Scarlet Lady was enlarged and moved to the rear of the aircraft, a Boeing 747–400, and the aircraft was temporarily renamed Birthday Girl. The aircraft made a special flight recreating the first Virgin Atlantic flight, from London to New York, with Richard Branson and a number of special guests onboard.[42]

In 2010, the livery was replaced by a new design, featuring a larger logo and slight changes to the Scarlet Lady. The wingtips, previously carrying the Union flag, were repainted red, with the Virgin logo on the inside facing passengers onboard. The Virgin Atlantic logo was also added to the underside of the aircraft.[43]

Slogans

Over the years, Virgin has used many slogans, including:

Boeing 747-200 marked with 'No Way BA/AA' referring to a potential merger between British Airways and American Airlines (2001)
  • "No Way BA/AA"

Used in the late 1990s on several 747-400s to express Branson's displeasure with the proposed British Airways/American Airlines partnership. BA/AA combined held 100% market share on several US-UK routes (e.g. Dallas-Fort Worth to London), and a market share of more than 50% in several more (e.g. Chicago to London, JFK to London). The slogan was brought back starting in September 2008 after merger talks between British Airways, Iberia Airlines and American Airlines began.[44]

  • "Mine's Bigger Than Yours"

Written on the back of the Airbus A340-600s because they were the longest passenger aircraft in the world.[45] The new title of the longest passenger aircraft has claimed by the Boeing 747-8 after it officially entered service in 2011.

  • "4 Engines 4 Longhaul"

Originally an Airbus slogan when newer versions of the A340 were built until Virgin inherited the slogan. The slogan was written on the engines of the planes, because all Virgin's planes at the time had four engines as opposed to BA's long haul twin-jet Boeing 777s and Boeing 767s. The slogan was removed in 2006 because it "had run its course and it was time to move on"—Virgin would later order Boeing 787 Dreamliner twin-jet aircraft in 2007, as well as the Airbus A330-300, another twinjet, in 2009.

  • "Still Red Hot For 25 Years"

Introduced as part of the 25th anniversary television advertisement in 2009.[46]

  • "Your Airline's Either Got It, Or It Hasn't"

New, revamped 2010 slogan, which made its first appearance on the new commercial, alongside the new logo and livery.

Services

Most Virgin Atlantic aircraft are in a three-class configuration with Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper Class cabins. The airline's Airbus A330-300 aircraft are not fitted with the Upper Class cabin.[47]

Cabin

Economy

Economy is the standard economy class of Virgin Atlantic. Amenities include free meals, drinks and amenity kits for all passengers. Seats have a minimum seat pitch of 31 in (depending on the aircraft type).[48] In addition, updated economy seats have adjustable lumbar support, but are not yet installed throughout Virgin Atlantic’s fleet. [citation needed]

Premium Economy

Premium Economy has a separate check-in area, priority boarding ahead of Economy passengers, a wider seat with more legroom than Economy, and additional cabin services such as a preflight drink and dedicated cabin crew. As with Economy, in November 2006, Virgin launched an updated product with a wider seat that also supplies laptop power. It is being installed across the fleet starting with London Heathrow-based A340 aircraft. As of May 2010 all Airbus A340s, A330s, and London Heathrow Boeing 747s have the new product. The 747s based at Heathrow have an updated configuration of 62 seats all located downstairs.[49] The upper deck on Gatwick Boeing 747s is entirely Premium Economy (the original seats), with a further two Premium Economy rows downstairs. The Premium Economy cabin on the new A330-300s consists of 59 seats at the front of the aircraft.[50]

Upper Class
The Virgin Clubhouse at San Francisco International Airport, used by Upper Class passengers

Upper Class is the equivalent of business class on all Virgin Atlantic Airways’ flights. Virgin does not offer a traditional First Class cabin service. The Upper Class seat is claimed by the airline to be the biggest fully flat bed of any airline’s business class service (it is approximately 202 cm long and 84 cm wide); however, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines have made similar claims.[51] The seat offers in-seat laptop power and power leads for iPods, and Upper Class passengers have access to a chauffeur, drive thru check-in and private security channel (at some airports[vague]), Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses, a larger menu than that of Premium Economy and Economy passengers and an in-flight bar. The seats in the Upper Class cabin are arranged in a Herringbone seating design. Gatwick based aircraft have a smaller Upper Class cabin with 14 seats in the nose of the Boeing 747-400 aircraft whereas 747-400 aircraft based at London Heathrow are configured with a larger Upper Class cabin split over the lower and upper deck with a total number of 44 seats. A340-300 aircraft have 34 Upper Class seats whereas all A340-600 aircraft are configured with 45 Upper Class seats. Most A330-300 aircraft are not fitted with Upper Class[52] but new A330s [53] introduced in April will include Virgin Atlantic's new 'Upper Class Dream Suite' seats and cabin, which begins service on April 21 and will be rolled out through the rest of the Virgin Atlantic fleet by 2015.[54]

In-flight entertainment

All Virgin Atlantic aircraft offer personal seat-back televisions that provide entertainment channels. Most aircraft (some 747-400s, one A340-300 and all A340-600s) have an Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) system called V:Port. The new A330-300 aircraft have a new touch screen AVOD system called JAM. Older "Odyssey" and "Super Nova" IFE systems can be found on the Gatwick/Manchester fleet: they both have smaller screens and display audio and video on a loop rather than broadcasting on demand. However, these older systems will be replaced as part of Virgin's investment in the Gatwick/Manchester fleet with the JAM AVOD system; expecting to be carried out from April until October 2012.

Virgin Atlantic Frequent Flyer Programme

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Tiers
Tier Level Benefits Requirements to earn Requirements to retain
Red
  • Earn miles with partner airlines – Singapore Airlines, BMI, Air China et al
  • Earn miles with other travel-related merchants – Marriott International, Hertz et al
  • Earn miles with online retail stores – Apple Store, eBay, Waterstones et al
  • 7% discount on Virgin Holidays
  • 50% discount to Regus Businessworld Gold Card
 Free membership N/A; miles expire if no account activity for 36 months
Silver
  • Receive all the benefits of Red tier
  • Earn 50% more base miles
  • Premium Check-In Service
  • Priority reservation waitlisting, baggage handling
  • Advance Seat Reservation
  • 5% discount on Park and Fly
 Earn 15 tier points within a rolling 13 month period Earn 15 tier points within a membership year
Gold
  • Receive all the benefits of Silver tier
  • Earn 100% more base miles
  • Fast track Check-In, Private Security and Immigration (where available)
  • Highest level of priority and recognition
  • Extra baggage allowance
  • Clubhouse lounge on departure and (where available) on arrival
  • Complimentary Silver membership to a chosen nominee
 Earn 40 tier points within a rolling 13 month period Earn 40 tier points within a membership year

Statistics

Virgin Atlantic carried over 5.2 million passengers during 2011, a 0.3% reduction compared with 2010.[55]

Year Total passengers Total flights Load factor Passenger Change YoY
2005 4,488,651 17,637 74.3%
2006 4,887,541 18,960 72.8% Increase8.9%
2007 5,639,957 21,344 76.5% Increase15.4%
2008 5,719,497 22,149 76.9% Increase1.4%
2009 5,423,341 20,735 78.9% Decrease5.2%
2010 5,295,971 19,484 82.5% Decrease2.3%
2011 5,279,670 20,519 77.5% Decrease0.3%
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[55]

Incidents and accidents

  • On 5 November 1997, after numerous attempts to shake free the jammed main landing gear of an Airbus A340-300 G-VSKY failed, the aircraft made an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport. The aircraft sustained major damage to the undersides of engines 1, 2 and 4 which made contact with the runway surface during landing. The runway surface was also damaged and several runway lights were broken as the right main landing gear wheels broke up during the deceleration. The aircraft was evacuated safely, with two crew members and five passengers sustaining minor injuries during the evacuation.[56]
  • On 8 February 2005, on board an Airbus A340-600 aircraft (G-VATL) en route from Hong Kong to London, the fuel control computer system caused a loss of automatic fuel transfer between tanks. The left outboard engine lost power, and shortly after the right outboard engine also began to falter until the crew began crossfeeding fuel manually. The crew diverted to Amsterdam, where a safe landing was made. The interim accident report made four safety recommendations addressed to the primary certification bodies for large transport category aircraft (EASA and the FAA), advising on the need for a low fuel warning system for large aircraft.[57]
  • On 16th April 2012, Airbus A330-300 G-VSXY, operating as flight VS27 Suffered a small fire in the rear of the aircraft. The aircraft had left London Gatwick Airport 15 minutes previously. The crew squawked 7700, meaning a general emergency, and 20 minutes later, the aircraft safely returned to gatwick and evacuated the passengers on the runway. The Airport was closed for approximately 90 minutes, until the aircraft was removed from the runway. 4 passengers suffered injuries, and there are reports of some cabin crew panicking and shoving passengers off the aircraft. The passengers were transported to Orlando Airport the next day, the flight being renumbered VS127 for that day. The aircraft is expected to be repaired and returned to service soon.

See also

Notes and Citations

Notes
  1. ^ independent from government-owned corporations
Citations
  1. ^ a b Virgin Atlantic Directors
  2. ^ a b c "Virgin Atlantic Airways Accelerates out of Recession With Strong Q1 Sales". London: Virgin Atlantic Airways. 30 July 2010. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
  3. ^ Bloomberg - Branson to Stay ‘Major’ Virgin Atlantic Holder as Partner Sought
  4. ^ "UK Airline Statistics: 2011". Caa.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Aircraft Illustrated – Virgin Birth, Ian Allan Publishing, pp. 48–51, ISSN 0002-2675
  6. ^ West Sussex County Times, Friday, 20 January 1984 Page 1
  7. ^ Bamber, G.J., Gittell, J.H., Kochan, T.A. & von Nordenflytch, A. (2009). "Up in the Air: How Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging their Employees". Cornell University Press, Ithaca. {{cite web}}: |chapter= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "2003 UK Airline Statistics". UK CAA. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  9. ^ "2006 UK Airline Statistics". UK CAA. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
  10. ^ VIRGIN ATLANTIC OPERATES RELIEF FLIGHT TO ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  11. ^ "First biofuel flight touches down". 24 February 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |source= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Sir Richard Branson begins strategic review of Virgin Atlantic
  13. ^ Air France and Delta to target Virgin Atlantic
  14. ^ IAG ‘very interested’ in Virgin, but only for slots: Walsh
  15. ^ "Student Information Pack". Virgin Atlantic Airways. 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  16. ^ "Companies House - Virgin Holidays Limited." Virgin Holidays. Retrieved on 07 November 2011. "Virgin Holidays Limited.Registered Office: Company Secretariat, The Office, Manor Royal, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 9NU.Registered in England No. 01873815"
  17. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 26 March 1988. 125.
  18. ^ a b Losing my Virginity – The Autobiography., Branson, R., Virgin Books Ltd., London, 2006 (2nd reprint), p. 362
  19. ^ "Operation of the UK Traffic Distribution Rules in relation to all-cargo services at London Heathrow Airport" (PDF). BAA Heathrow. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  20. ^ "BA dirty tricks against Virgin cost £3m". BBC News Online. 11 January 1993. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  21. ^ "Virgin's battle of Britain with BA". BBC News Online. 7 June 1999. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  22. ^ Osborne, Alistair (14 July 2009). "Virgin boss caught up in BA price fixing case". London: The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  23. ^ "Virgin tip-off 'led to BA probe'". BBC News Online. 23 June 2006. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  24. ^ "US judge upholds BA's $300m fine". BBC News Online. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  25. ^ Osborne, Alistair (22 April 2010). "Virgin Atlantic accused of fixing Hong Kong flight prices". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
  26. ^ "Business Travel News". Btnonline.com. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  27. ^ "Our Destinations – Codeshare Destinations". Virgin Atlantic. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  28. ^ "Virgin Atlantic fleet". Planesregister.com. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  29. ^ Goldstein, Steve (26 October 2006). "Virgin Atlantic to delay A380 deliveries until 2013". Dow Jones MarketWatch. Retrieved 26 October 2006.
  30. ^ "Virgin Reveals Dreamliner order". Airliner World. June 2007. p. 4.
  31. ^ Virgin Atlantic Press Release dated 24 April 2007
  32. ^ "Virgin Atlantic Makes Europe's Largest Single Order For Fuel-Efficient Boeing 787 Dreamlines". Virgin Atlantic Press Office. 24 April 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  33. ^ "James Bond Seeks Out Virgin Atlantic for "Casino Royale" Assignment," Virgin Atlantic press release, 4 July 2006.
  34. ^ [1]
  35. ^ Virgin Atlantic Fleet – CAA Database
  36. ^ "Airbus - Orders & Deliveries". Airbus EADS. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  37. ^ "Boeing - Orders & Deliveries". The Boeing Company. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  38. ^ Breaking Travel News-VS to boost services with 7 A333s to be received this year
  39. ^ "Aircraft available - Airbus sales and leasing". Airbus S.A.S. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  40. ^ a b "Virgin Atlantic Fleet". Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  41. ^ "The Virgin Atlantic fleet of aircraft" (PDF). Virgin Atlantic Airways. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  42. ^ Alex Brownsell (22 June 2009). "Virgin Atlantic celebrates 25th anniversary by recreating debut flight". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  43. ^ Branwell Johnson (29 July 2010). "Virgin Atlantic flies high with new brand livery and identity". Marketing Week. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  44. ^ Clark, Pilita (11 April 2010). "Branson attacks watchdog over BA-AA pact". FT.com. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
  45. ^ "Image of G-VSHY in 2002 with slogan Mine's Bigger Than Yours". Airliners.net. 10 November 2002. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  46. ^ Mark Sweney (5 January 2009). "Virgin Atlantic goes back to 1984 - Rubik's Cubes and all - for 25th birthday TV ad". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  47. ^ "Boeing 747–400 – Virgin Atlantic". Seat Map. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
  48. ^ "Virgin Atlantic Airways – Popup". Virgin-atlantic.com. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  49. ^ Virgin Atlantic 747-400 seating configuration 4. Retrieved on 24 May 2011.
  50. ^ Virgin Atlantic A330-300 seating configuration. Retrieved on 25 May 2011.
  51. ^ "Singapore Airlines "The largest full-flat bed in Business Class"". Singaporeair.com. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  52. ^ "Virgin Atlantic Seat Configuration Airbus A330-300 (2 Cabin)".
  53. ^ "Virgin Atlantic Seat Configuration Airbus A330-300 (3 Cabin)".
  54. ^ "Virgin Atlantic debuts new 'Upper Class Dream Suite' on April 21". Australian Business Traveller. Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  55. ^ a b "UK Airline Statistics , Data , Economic Regulation". UK CAA. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  56. ^ "Report on the accident to Airbus A340-300, G-VSKY, at London Heathrow Airport on 5 November 1997". UK AAIB. Retrieved 14 March 2009.
  57. ^ "Airbus A340-642, G-VATL". UK AAIB. Retrieved 26 July 2007.

Further reading

  • Gregory, Martyn. Dirty Tricks: British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic. New York: Virgin, 2000. ISBN 0-7535-0458-8
  • Bower, Tom. Branson. UK: Fourth Estate, 2001 ISBN 1-84115-400-8
  • Branson, Richard (2006 [2nd reprint]). Losing my Virginity – The Autobiography. London, UK: Virgin Books Ltd. ISBN 0-7535-1020-0. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
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