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Virgin Atlantic Airways , usually referred to as Virgin Atlantic, is one of the airlines of Richard Branson's Virgin Group, operating long-haul routes between London and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. Its main base is London Heathrow (LHR), with a hub at London Gatwick (LGW).
History
Virgin's predecessor, British Atlantic Airways, operated flights from the UK to the Falkland Islands starting in 1982. Branson purchased the airline in 1984 and began flights to North America on June 22 1984, using a single Boeing 747-200 on scheduled service between London Gatwick and Newark, taking over the small market share of Freddie Laker's failed "Skytrain" operation.
"Dirty tricks"
Virgin has always been a competitor and rival of British Airways. In January 1991 the UK Civil Aviation Authority opened the door for Virgin to operate from Heathrow and services were started from July 1991, one of the major causes of the BA "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin. In 1992 BA's PA director David Burnside published an article in BA News which argued that Branson protestations against British Airways were merely for publicity. Branson sued British Airways for libel. BA settled out of court when its lawyers unearthed evidence of the extraordinary lengths the company went to "kill off" Virgin. BA was faced with a legal bill of up to £3m, damages to Sir Richard of £500,000 and a further £110,000 to his airline. Branson divided his £500,000 amongst his staff in the so-called "BA bonus", each receiving £166.
In the 1990s, Virgin Atlantic jets were painted with the words "No-Way BA/AA" in opposition to the attempted partnership between British Airways and American Airlines. In 1997, following British Airways' announcement that it was to remove the Union Jack from its tailfins in favour of world images, Virgin took advantage of the controversy provoked by introducing a union flag design on the winglets of its aircraft, and changed the red dress on the "Scarlet Lady" on the nose of its aircraft to the union flag also, with the tag line "Britain's Flag Carrier" to tongue-in-cheek challenge BA's traditional spot in this role. Relations with British Airways improved considerably (though rivalry continued) with the arrival of Rod Eddington as BA CEO. Eddington replaced Robert Ayling, who was a key player in the dirty tricks affair.
49% of Virgin Atlantic was sold to Singapore Airlines in December 1999 for £600.25 million.
In August 2002, Virgin became the first airline to begin flights with the Airbus A340-600. Rolls-Royce have won all recent engine competitions for Virgin aircraft; the company's Trent-500's will power the A340s and the Trent 900 will power A380s on order.
Incidents and accidents
On 19 June 1984, during the final CAA test flight before full licensing, an engine caught fire due to bird ingestion. The aircraft landed safely.
On June 1 1996, flight VS007 from London to Los Angeles made an emergency landing at Iqaluit after a passenger had a heart attack. One of the 747's engines hit a fuel pump on the tarmac as it was taxiing, causing serious damage to the aircraft and a fuel spill. The aircraft had its engines repaired and left four days after the accident.
On 5 November 1997, after numerous attempts to shake 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 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 (ref: Flight International, July 2005).
Flying With Virgin
The airline has three classes of service: Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class. Premium Economy provides a separate check-in, a larger seat with more leg room than Economy, and a welcome glass of champagne. Virgin Atlantic calls its business-class product offering "Upper Class". Upper Class passengers can request complimentary limousine pick-up and drop-off at the airport, and at their destination, although the limousine is not available to those who purchase the cheaper "Z" coded Upper Class fare. At the airport, Upper Class passengers can use Virgin's clubhouse lounge. On board and in the Heathrow and Gatwick clubhouses, passengers can avail themselves of massage services. Unlike some international carriers, Virgin gives free personal amenity kits, including toothbrush, pen, earplugs and eyemask, to passengers in all three classes. Upper Class passenegers are now given a paper envelope, with just socks, eyeshades and earplugs in it, other items are available on request, subject to stock. Virgin also pioneered seat-back personal TVs in all classes, and have begun upgrading their aircraft to an Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) system called V:Port.
The V:Port systems currently in use offer a choice of approximately 50 full length feature films, 60 audio CDs, and around 200 hours of television shows. Also featured are video games, some of which can be played competitively against other passengers.
Destinations
Just over half of Virgin's flights leave London from London Heathrow, with the remainder leaving from London Gatwick. There are also daily services from Manchester International Airport to Orlando, and weekly services to Bridgetown and St Lucia (starting 16 November 2006).
- New Services in 2006
- London-Heathrow to Dubai
- London-Gatwick to Montego Bay
- Manchester to St Lucia (Starting 16 November 2007)
- New Services in 2007
Fleet
Virgin Atlantic's Fleet consists of the following as of June 2006:
- 6 Airbus A340-300
- 14 Airbus A340-600 (further 11 on order)
- 13 Boeing 747-400
- 0 Airbus A380-800 (6 on order)
In November 2003 Virgin introduced the Upper Class Suite, which is the longest totally flat bed in Business Class. The Upper Class Suite is fitted on all Virgin's A340-600 and 747-400 aircraft. Of the A340-300 aircraft in the fleet, all except one have been fitted with the Upper Class Suite, with the last one to go in for a refit shortly. As of December 2005, A340-300 G-VBUS is on wet-lease to Virgin Nigeria Airways and G-VSUN is listed to follow according to filings with the United States Department of Transportation. 747s are used on all routes from Gatwick and Manchester. From Heathrow 747s are used on routes to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston; along with A340s which are used for all other Heathrow routes.
| Designation | Aircraft | Entertainment system |
|---|---|---|
| G-VAEL (Maiden Toulouse) | A340-300 | ARCADIA |
| G-VAIR (Maiden Tokyo) | A340-300 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VAST (Ladybird) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VATL (Miss Kitty) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VBIG (Tinker Belle) | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VBLU (Soul Sister) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VEIL (Queen Of The Skies) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VELD (African Queen) | A340-300 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VFAB (Lady Penelope) | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VFAR (Diana) | A340-300 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VFIT (Dancing Queen) | A340-600 (Config. 2) | V:PORT |
| G-VFOX (Silver Lady) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VGAL (Jersey Girl) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VGAS (Varga Girl) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VGOA (Indian Princess) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VHOL (Jetstreamer) | A340-300 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VHOT (Tubular Belle) | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VLIP (Hot Lips) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VMEG (Mystic Maiden) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VNAP (Sleeping Beauty) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VOGE (Cover Girl) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VROC (Mustang Sally) | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VROM (Barbarella) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VROS (English Rose) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VROY (Pretty Woman) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VSEA (Plane Sailing) | A340-300 | ODYSSEY |
| G-VSHY (Madam Butterfly) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VSSH (Sweet Dreamer) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VTOP (Virginia Plain) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VWIN (Lady Luck) | A340-600 (Config. 2) | V:PORT |
| G-VWKD (Miss Behavin) | A340-600 (Config. 1) | V:PORT |
| G-VWOW (Cosmic Girl) | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VXLG (Ruby Tuesday) | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
Source: *
Virgin Atlantic average fleet age is 6.1 years old in June 2006.
The following aircraft are on order, and have had registrations assigned.
- G-VFIZ (Bubbles) A340-600 (Suite) with V:PORT entertainment system. To be delivered in July 2006.
- G-VRED (tba.) A340-600 (Suite) with V:PORT entertainment system. To be delivered in October 2006.
- G-VYOU (tba.) A340-600 (Suite) with V:PORT entertainment system. To be delivered in August 2006.
- G-VXXL (Virgin Lady) A380-800. To be delivered in 2008.
Virgin Atlantic has ordered 6 Airbus A380 aircraft with options on 6 more. The first delivery is expected to enter service in March 2008 and the aircraft will be used on services from London to Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo. The option of using the A380 on charter services, eg Orlando, is being explored (ref: Airliner World, March 2005).
Virgin's aircraft are given female names such as "Ladybird", "Island Lady", and "Ruby Tuesday". Many are named after destinations on the Virgin route network, such as "Maiden Tokyo" and "California Girl". Virgin's fleet also has several tongue in cheek registrations, California Girl is G-VLAX, after Los Angeles International. Boston Belle is G-VJFK after Massachusetts' famous son, others include G-VIRG, G-VGIN and G-VXLG for a 747-400 (Ruby Tuesday).
The Virgin livery features a pinup girl near the nose of each aircraft called the "Scarlet Lady". She was originally painted by Alberto Vargas. Carrying a Union Jack in a form reminiscent of British Airways' traditional "speedbird" logo, now she even has her own aircraft registration and name, an Airbus A340-600 registered G-VGAS and named "Varga Girl".
G-VAST, a Boeing 747-400 has featured in the BBC's Top Gear television show to be used to test the strength of cars in a dangerous crosswind.
The following aircraft have been in service for Virgin in the past:
- G-OUZO (Spirit of Melina) A320-200 - now with MyTravel Airways (G-JOEM)
- G-TKYO (Maiden Japan) 747-200 - now with Kalitta Air (N703CK/converted to freighter)
- G-VATH (Hellenic Beauty) A321-200 - now with Turkish Airlines (TC-JME)
- G-VBEE (Honey Pie) 747-200 - now with Transaero (VP-BQA)
- G-VBUS (Lady in Red) A340-300 - now with Virgin Nigeria Airways
- G-VCAT (Wild Thing) 747-200 - now with European Aviation Air Charter (G-CCMA/currently stored)
- G-VFLY (Dragon Lady) A340-300 - now with Finnair (OH-LQA)
- G-VGIN (Scarlet Lady) 747-200 - now with Kabo Air (5N-EEE)
- G-VIBE (Dancing Queen/later: Spirit of New York) 747-200 - now with Transaero (VP-BQH)
- G-VIRG (Maiden Voyager) 747-200 - now with Kabo Air (5N-NNN)
- G-VJFK (Boston Belle) 747-200 - now with Kabo Air (5N-PDP)
- G-VKID (Sundance Kid/Virgin Sun) A320-200 - now with Iberworld (EC-IMU)
- G-VKIS (Sunkissed Girl/Virgin Sun) A321-200 - now with Turkish Airlines (TC-JMF)
- G-VLAX (California Girl) 747-200 - now with Kabo Air (5N-PPP)
- G-VMED (Mediterranean Maiden) A320-200 - now with AtlasJet (TC-OGF)
- G-VMIA (Spirit of Sir Freddie) B747-100 - scrapped
- G-VOYG (Shady Lady) 747-200 - scrapped
- G-VPUF (High as a Kite) 747-200 - now with Transaero (VP-BQC/currently stored)
- G-VRGN (Maid of Honour) 747-200 - now with Tradewinds Airlines (N526UP/converted to freighter)
- G-VRUM (Calypso Queen) 747-200 - now with Southern Winds (LV-AZF)
- G-VSKY (China Girl) A340-300 - now with BWIA West Indies Airways (9Y-JIL)
- G-VSSS (Island Lady) 747-200 - now with Transaero (VP-BQB)
- G-VSUN (Rainbow Lady) A340-300 - now with Virgin Nigeria Airways
- G-VTAN (Sunshine Girl/Virgin Sun) A320-200 - now with AtlasJet (TC-OGE)
- G-VZZZ (Morning Glory) 747-200 - now with Transaero (VP-BQE)
Virgin's Slogans
''Over the years, Virgin has adopted many clever slogans including:
- "Mine's Bigger Than Yours"
- "4 Engines 4 Longhaul"
- "Avoid The Q"
- "Keep Discovering - Until You Find The Best"
- "BA can't keep it * up!"
- "No Way BA/AA"
- Others Include:
- "More Experience Than Our 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"
Events in 2005
On August 15 2005, Virgin Atlantic, which flies the Kangaroo route between Sydney, Australia and London, UK via Hong Kong, denied it is in talks with part owner Singapore Airlines about extending its code sharing arrangements from Singapore to Sydney. Virgin Atlantic, 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, began flying between Sydney and the UK via Hong Kong in December 2004.
On July 14 2005, Virgin Atlantic announced its plans to fly direct from London Heathrow to Dubai. The service will be operated by an Airbus A340 and will be fitted with Virgin Atlantic's award-winning Upper Class Suite. In addition to this route, Virgin Atlantic recently announced a new route from London Gatwick to Montego Bay, Jamaica in July next year, which will bring the airline's total number of destinations to twenty-eight.
To celebrate the airline's 21st birthday the flying lady was temporarily moved to the back of Boeing 747 to create "Birthday Girl". However, in May 2006, the name "Lady Penelope" once again graces the fuselage and the '21 years of flying high'-stickers have been removed.
Ownership
- Virgin Atlantic Airways ownership is split into two, with Richard Branson's Virgin Group owning 51% of the international carrier, and Singapore Airlines of Singapore owning the other 49%.
Further reading
- Gregory, Martyn. British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic. New York: Virgin, 2000. ISBN 0753504588
See also
- Virgin America
- Virgin Blue
- Virgin Express
- Virgin Galactic
- Virgin Nigeria Airways
- Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
External links
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
- Virgin Atlantic Airways Fleet Age
- Virgin Atlantic Fleet Detail
- Virgin Atlantic Passenger Opinions
- Virgin Atlantic Flyer (V-Flyer) (customer-created site)
- LoveMySeat.com Seat Comfort Scores
- Seat Guru Listing (Detailed seat maps of the fleet)
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"Virgin Atlantic Airways"