Virgin Atlantic Airways
IATA VS	ICAO VIR	Callsign VIRGIN
Founded		1984
Commenced operations		22 June 1984
Hubs		London Heathrow Airport London Gatwick Airport
Focus cities		Manchester Airport
Frequent flyer program		Flying Club
Member lounge		Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse
Fleet size		38[1] (+21 orders)
Destinations		30
Parent company		Virgin Group
Headquarters		Crawley, England, UK
Key people		Richard Branson (President) Stephen Murphy (Chairman) Steve Ridgway (CEO)
Website: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. (operating as Virgin Atlantic) is a British airline owned by Richard Branson's Virgin Group (51%) and Singapore Airlines (49%). It operates between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from main bases at London Heathrow and London Gatwick. Virgin has a smaller base at Manchester Airport. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.^[2] In the year to February 2007, Virgin Atlantic carried 5.1 million passengers and made an annual profit of £46.8 million on turnover of £2,140 million.^[3]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Conception and birth 1.2 Formative years 1.3 Later years 2 Rivalry with British Airways 2.1 Background to opening up Heathrow 2.2 Virgin Atlantic's precarious financial position during the early 1990s 2.3 The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" 2.4 BA's response 2.5 "Dirty tricks" 3 Destinations 4 Fleet 4.1 Current 4.2 Retired 5 Cabin 5.1 Economy 5.2 Premium Economy 5.3 Upper Class 5.4 In-flight entertainment 6 Incidents and accidents 7 Slogans 8 Further reading 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Conception and birth

In 1982, 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. 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.^[4] 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.

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

Hellary and Fields applied for a licence between Gatwick and Newark Liberty International Airport, outside New York. It was planned that British Atlantic Airways would use a 380-seat DC-10 to fly to Newark. 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.

On June 22, 1984 Virgin Atlantic operated its inaugural scheduled service between Gatwick and Newark Liberty using a leased Boeing 747-200 (G-VIRG) formerly operated by Aerolineas Argentinas. The airline became profitable during its first year, aided by sister company Virgin Records' ability to finance the lease of a secondhand Boeing 747. The firm timed operations to take advantage of a full summer, which included the June to September - the most profitable.

[edit] Formative years

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 turbo-prop aircraft, but this was withdrawn around 1990. In 1988, Club Air operated two Boeing 727 aircraft on behalf of Virgin. They were leased from Eastern Airlines to also serve the Luton to Dublin route. These were withdrawn around 1990 too.

[edit] 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 became first to use the Airbus A340-600.

Virgin Atlantic carried 3.8 million passengers in 2003.^[5] This increased to 4.6 million in 2006, placing them seventh among UK airlines but second in passenger-miles because of the long-haul nature of operations.^[6] During the 2012 Summer Olympics bids, Virgin Atlantic attached "London 2012" to the rear of many aircraft.

Virgin volunteered a Boeing 747s for a test of biofuels. In February 2008, it flew from Heathrow to Amsterdam, 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.^[7]

[edit] Rivalry with British Airways

Virgin Atlantic has been a rival of British Airways since inception.^[8]

[edit] Background to opening up Heathrow

In January 1991, the UK opened London Heathrow Airport to Virgin when it abolished the London Air Traffic Distribution Rules in response to pressure from the industry.

[edit] Virgin Atlantic's precarious financial position during the 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 the International Leisure Group (ILG) and its subsidiary Air Europe resulting in 4,000 job losses^[8] was aware that Dan-Air was on the brink of bankruptcy, and wanted to avoid the collapse of another independent British airline, especially if its profile was as high as Virgin Atlantic's. The Government was conscious that many of independent airlines' employees, were threatened by the economic climate, lived in marginal Conservative constituencies. The Government decided to let Virgin Atlantic into Heathrow despite facing opposition from British Airways.

[edit] The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules"

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

The London Air Traffic Distribution Rules came into effect on 1 April 1978 and were applied from the beginning of April 1977. They were 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 rules said airlines without an international scheduled service from Heathrow prior to 1 April 1977 would not be permitted operations there. Instead, they would use Gatwick. However, airlines that did not already operate at Heathrow could 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. London Air Traffic Distribution Rules banned all new all-cargo as well as all charter flights from Heathrow as of 1 April 1978.

[edit] BA's response

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

The decision to open Heathrow to all newcomers - 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 United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority's subsequent decision to transfer two pairs of unused slots British Airways held at Tokyo's Narita International Airport to Virgin to let Virgin 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".

[edit] "Dirty tricks"

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

The decision to abolish the London Air Traffic Distribution Rules 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. BA settled out of court when its lawyers found the lengths to which the company went to try to kill off Virgin. BA had a legal bill of up to £3m, damages to Branson of £500,000 and a further £110,000 to his airline. Branson divided his £500,000 among staff, each receiving £166.

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 [2].

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.

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. In August 2007, BA was fined £271 million by the UK's Office of Fair Trading and the US Department of Justice. Virgin Atlantic was not fined as it was given immunity for reporting the cartel to regulators.

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Virgin Atlantic destinations

75% of Virgin's flights operate from London Heathrow, with most of the remainder from London Gatwick and Manchester Airport with one seasonal flight from Glasgow International Airport.

[edit] Fleet

Virgin Atlantic's fleet uses both Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with an average age of 6.7 years as of March 2008.^[9] Boeing 747-400s are used on all routes from Gatwick and Manchester. Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s are used interchangeably on routes from Heathrow.

In addition to Airbus A340-600 aircraft still on order, Virgin Atlantic has orders for Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A380-800 aircraft for delivery beginning 2011 and 2013, 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 it put its own into operation.^[10]

The order for 15 787-9s, with options on eight more and purchase rights on 20 more, was announced on April 24, 2007. The aircraft will replace Virgin’s older A340-300s.^[11] 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 .^[12] Virgin is negotiating with Boeing and Airbus over an order for ten wide-bodied jets for the Gatwick fleet. This could be a new order for the Boeing 747-8 or for additional Airbus A380-800s. Deliveries are expected in 2012, in time for the 2012 London Olympics.^[13]

Virgin’s aircraft are painted in a red and silver livery introduced in October 2006 with the delivery of G-VRED. It will adorn the entire fleet. Near the nose of each aircraft is a pinup girl designed by British artist Ken White, called Scarlet Lady. White modeled the motif on the World War II pin-ups of Alberto Vargas — hence the naming one of the fleet Varga Girl.^{[citation needed]} The motif was updated with the addition of the 1999 Silver livery. Each carries a Union Flag. The names are 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 The 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 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.

On September 27, 2006 Branson announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting aircraft weight and fuel consumption. There was also an experiment to have aircraft towed to the runway to save fuel, but this has not resulted in a change of operational procedures.^[14]

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 (the sequence was filmed at Ruzyně International Airport in Prague).^[15] 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.

[edit] Current

Virgin Atlantic’s fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2008:^[9]

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Options	Passengers (Upper/Premium Economy/Economy)	Engines	Entry Into Service	Exit From Service
Airbus A340-300	6	0	0	240 (34/35/171)	CFM CFM56	1993-1998	2011
Airbus A340-600	19	0	0	308 (45/38/225)	RR Trent 500	2002-2006	N/A
Airbus A380-800	0	6	6	TBA	RR Trent 900	2013-	N/A
Boeing 747-400	13	0	0	452 (14/58/380) 451 (14/58/379) 344 (54/62/228)	GE CF6	1994-2003	N/A
Boeing 787-9	0	15	8	TBA	RR Trent 1000	2011-	N/A

[edit] Retired

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

Aircraft	Total	Notes
Airbus A320	4	Operated by Virgin Sun.
Airbus A321	2	Operated by Virgin Sun.
Boeing 747-100	1	G-VMIA named 'Spirit of Sir Freddie' after airline legend Sir Freddie Laker.
Boeing 747-200	11	G-VIRG was Virgin's first aircraft.
Vickers Viscount	4	Operated for Virgin by British United Air Ferries.

[edit] Cabin

All Virgin Atlantic aircraft are in a three-class configuration with Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper Class cabins.

[edit] Economy

Economy is the standard coach class of Virgin Atlantic and has fairly standard amenities for a Legacy carrier, such as free meals and drinks and a free amenity kit. Seats have a maximum seat pitch of 81 cm (depending on the aircraft type). In addition, updated economy seats have adjustable lumbar support, and are being installed across Virgin Atlantic’s fleet.

[edit] 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 Heathrow-based A340 aircraft. As of April 2008 all A340s have the new product. The 747s based at Heathrow completed their refit by December 2007 and have an updated configuration of 62 seats all located downstairs.^[16] The upper deck on Gatwick-based 747s is entirely Premium Economy, with a further two Premium Economy rows downstairs, between Upper Class and Economy.^[17]

[edit] Upper Class

Upper Class is the equivalent of business class on all Virgin Atlantic Airways’ flights. Virgin does not offer a traditional First Class cabin service.^[18] 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.^[19] 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), the clubhouse (lounge), a larger menu than that of Premium Economy and Economy passengers and an in-flight bar.

[edit] In-flight entertainment

All Virgin Atlantic aircraft offer personal seat-back televisions that provide entertainment channels. Certain aircraft (some 747-400s, one A340-300–G-VSUN–, and all A340-600s) have an Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) system called V:Port. Older "Odyssey" and "Nova" IFE systems can be found on aircraft in the fleet. They both have smaller screens and display audio and video on a loop rather than broadcasting on demand. The "Nova" system was updated to "Super Nova" during the Upper Class Suite fit-outs. (Although it is still on a loop)

[edit] 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 and the runway were damaged as the landing gear collapsed. The aircraft was evacuated safely causing only minor injuries.

• On 8 February 2005, onboard 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 4 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.^[20]

[edit] Slogans

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

• "Mine's Bigger Than Yours"

Written on the back of the Airbus A340-600s because they are the longest passenger aircraft in the world

• "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 twin-jet aircraft in 2007.

• "Avoid The Q"

Used to advertise Virgin's London to Hong Kong to Sydney service. The Q is a double entendre, referring to both queues (with Virgin's online check-in feature) and Qantas, which also operates the same route.

• "Keep Discovering - Until You Find The Best"

Used to promote the London to Dubai service, playing with rival airline Emirates' slogan 'Keep Discovering'

• "BA can't keep it [Concorde] up!"

Written on the back of G-VFOX during June and July 2003 after British Airways announced it would retire Concorde the following October.

• "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.^[21]

Others Include: "More experience than the name suggests," "Virgin, seeks travel companion(s)," "Love at first flight," "You never forget your first time," "Extra inches where it counts," "Fly a younger fleet," "One call does it all," "Hello gorgeous", "We're better by four" and, in a campaign featuring Austin Powers, "There's only one Virgin on this T-shirt (or bus, etc.) baby," and "Twice a day to London" in which Austin Powers is seen riding on the fuselage of a Virgin Atlantic 747. During that time G-VTOP was temporarily named "Austin Powered".

[edit] 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. 

[edit] See also

• Virgin America
• Virgin Blue
• Virgin Express
• Virgin Galactic
• Virgin Nigeria Airways
• Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
• V Australia

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Virgin Atlantic Airways

• Official website
• V-Flyer Customer-created site
• Fleet Age
• Fleet Detail
• Photos of Virgin Atlantic Airways aircraft

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