Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd (usually referred to as Virgin Atlantic) is a British airline which is owned by Richard Branson's
Virgin Group (51%) and Singapore Airlines
(49%). It operates long-haul routes between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa,
the Middle East, Asia, and Australia from its 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, which permits
it to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[1]
History
Conception and Birth
In 1982, Randolph Fields, an American-born lawyer, and Alan Hellary, a previous chief pilot for Laker Airways, set up
British Atlantic Airways as a direct successor to Laker Airways.
Fields got the idea of setting up an airline flying from London to the
Falkland Islands in June 1982, when the Falklands
War had just finished and there was an apparent need for such a service.[2] However, Fields needed more expertise and so contacted Alan Hellary, Laker Airways' former chief
pilot, who had apparently thought about establishing a regular, commercial air service linking the UK and the Falkland Islands at
the same time. Hellary was still in contact with many former colleagues who were out of work following the collapse of Laker
Airways. These people continued working on the aforesaid idea.
Unfortunately, the short runway at Port Stanley and the time it would take to
improve it made the scheme unviable. Therefore, the idea of flying to the Falkland Islands was dropped. Instead, Hellary and
Fields decided to try to secure a licence to fly from London Gatwick to
JFK Airport in New York. A three-day hearing was held in May 1983.
However, their application was rejected after both British Caledonian and the
BAA objected.
Despite the failure of the two earlier schemes, Hellary and Fields persevered, applying for a licence to fly between London
Gatwick and Newark Liberty International Airport, just outside
New York. It was planned that British Atlantic Airways would use a 380-seat DC10 to fly to Newark. However, faced with the prospect of direct competition from
People Express, a rapidly expanding post-deregulation "no frills" discount airline also based at Newark, they
decided to secure additional funding before proceeding with their proposed new airline venture.
Fields met Richard Branson at a party in Central
London during which he proposed a business partnership between Branson and himself to get his fledgling airline off the
ground. After protracted and testy negotiations, Fields agreed to a reduced stake of 25% in the airline (renamed Virgin Atlantic)
and became Virgin Atlantic's first chairman. (Following a series of disagreements over operational issues, Fields later agreed to
be bought out for an initial sum of £1 million with further payment due upon Virgin's first dividend payment. As a result of a
High Court action, this additional payment was received shortly before Fields' death from cancer in 1997. Fields also obtained
lifetime Upper Class flying privileges for his immediate family and his mother, one of British Atlantic's early backers).
On June 22 1984 Virgin Atlantic operated its inaugural
scheduled air service between London Gatwick and Newark Liberty using a single, leased Boeing
747-200 (G-VIRG) formerly operated by Aerolineas Argentinas. The airline
became profitable during its first year of operation, aided by sister company Virgin
Records' ability to finance the lease of a relatively inexpensive, second-hand Boeing 747. The firm also timed the start
of operations to take advantage of a full summer's season, which included the June to September peak season - by far the most
profitable travel period of the year.
Formative years
In 1986, the airline added another Boeing 747 and started a second scheduled route from Gatwick to Miami. Additional aircraft were acquired and further routes were 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.
Subsequent developments
In December 1999 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 August 2002, Virgin became the first airline to use the Airbus A340-600.
Rolls-Royce Trent 500s power the Airbus A340-600s
(though this is the only engine option for the type) and the Trent 900 will power
Airbus A380s on order.
Virgin Atlantic carried 3.8 million passengers in 2002. This increased to 4.9 million in 2006, placing them seventh amongst UK
airlines by this measure, but a clear second in passenger-kilometres, because of the long-haul nature of Virgin's
operations[3].
During the 2012 Summer Olympics bids, Virgin Atlantic attached "London
2012" decals to the rear of many of its aircraft in support of London's bid.
Growing rivalry with British Airways
Virgin Atlantic has been a bitter rival of British Airways since its
inception.[4]
Background to opening up Heathrow
In January 1991, the UK Government opened the door for Virgin to operate from London
Heathrow Airport when it decided to abolish the so-called "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" in response to growing
pressure from the industry.
Virgin Atlantic's precarious financial position during the early 1990s
According to some industry insider reports, Virgin Atlantic was facing increasing financial problems at that time. This was
primarily the result of a sharp reduction in demand for air travel caused by the recession of the early 1990s as well as by the
public's heightened fear to travel in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. Britain's then
Conservative Government, which had presided over the spectacular collapse of the
International Leisure Group (ILG) and its wholly owned subsidiary Air Europe resulting in
4,000 job losses[4] and was well aware
that Dan-Air was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy during that time, was desperate to avoid
the collapse of another prominent independent British airline, especially if its public profile was as high as Virgin Atlantic's.
The Government was also conscious of the fact that many of these independent airlines' employees, whose jobs were threatened by
the prevailing harsh economic climate at the time, lived in marginal Conservative constituencies. Therefore, the Government
decided to let Virgin Atlantic into Heathrow by abolishing the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" despite facing mounting
opposition from British Airways, whose senior management was exerting pressure on the
Government to maintain the status quo.
The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules"
The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" came into effect on April 1, 1978 and were applied retroactively from the beginning of April 1977. These rules were designed to achieve a "fairer" distribution of traffic between London Heathrow and London
Gatwick, the UK's two main international gateway airports. The policy was aimed at increasing Gatwick's utilisation to help the
airport make a profit.
The "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" stated that airlines that did not already operate an international scheduled air
service from/to Heathrow prior to April 1, 1977 would not be
permitted to commence operations at that airport. Instead, they would have to use Gatwick for all their London-based operations.
However, airlines that did not already operate at Heathrow prior to this law taking effect could still commence domestic
scheduled services at the airport provided that the BAA, which ran both Heathrow and Gatwick on behalf of the Government, as well
as the incumbent Secretary of State for Transport granted them permission to do so. In addition, the "London Air Traffic
Distribution Rules" banned all new all-cargo as well as all charter flights from Heathrow as of 1
April, 1978.
BA's response
The decision to open up Heathrow to all newcomers - other than those governed by Bermuda
II - angered BA's then chairman, Lord King, who stopped British
Airways' donations to the Conservative Party, which was in power in Britain at
the time, in protest. Lord King was furthermore angered by the Civil
Aviation Authority's subsequent decision to transfer two pairs of unused slots British Airways held at Tokyo's Narita International Airport to his archrival Virgin
Atlantic to enable Virgin to increase its frequency between Heathrow and Tokyo from four to six weekly round-trips, thereby
making it easier for Virgin to compete against British Airways in the highly lucrative business travel market. Lord King called
the CAA's decision to transfer these slots to one of his rivals, which the Government had endorsed, "a confiscation of his
company's property".
"Dirty Tricks"
The Government's decision to abolish the "London Air Traffic Distribution Rules" and to let a small, upstart airline like
Virgin Atlantic commence operations at Heathrow in direct competition with British Airways then became the main trigger for BA's
so-called "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin.
In 1992 BA's PR director David Burnside published an article in "BA News", British
Airways' internal staff magazine, which argued that Branson's protestations against British Airways were merely a publicity
stunt. Branson sued British Airways for libel. BA settled out of court when its lawyers unearthed evidence of the extraordinary
lengths to which the company went to try to "kill off" Virgin. BA was faced with 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 amongst his staff in the so-called "BA bonus", each
receiving £166.
Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-300
In the 1990s, Virgin Atlantic jets were painted with the words "No-Way BA/AA" in opposition to the attempted merger between
British Airways and American Airlines
[1].
In 1997, following British Airways' announcement that it was to remove the Union Flag 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 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 considerably with the arrival of Rod Eddington
as BA CEO though the rivalry between the two airlines continued. Eddington replaced Robert
Ayling, a key player in the "dirty tricks" affair who was dismissed by Lord Marshall, the long-serving BA chairman and Mr. Ayling's chief
mentor, on behalf of BA's main institutional shareholders after BA had suffered its first net loss since privatisation on Mr.
Ayling's watch 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
attempts by British Airways. In August 2007, BA was fined £271 million over the allegations. Virgin Atlantic was not fined for
colluding in the same price fixing as it was given immunity for reporting BA's actions.
Destinations
-
Almost three-quarters of Virgin's flights operate from London Heathrow, with
the remainder operating from London Gatwick. There are also some services from
Manchester Airport and one flight from Glasgow International Airport.
New Routes in 2007
Fleet
Virgin Atlantic’s aircraft fleet is currently composed of six Airbus A340-300, nineteen
Airbus A340-600, and thirteen Boeing 747-400
aircraft and has an average age of 6.1 years as of August 2007. 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 having some Airbus A340-600 aircraft still on order, Virgin Atlantic also has both Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A380-800 aircraft on order that will be
delivered beginning in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Originally, the A380 was expected to enter service in 2006 but was delayed
until 2009 because of problems within Airbus. Virgin then deferred its order to 2013, arguing
that it wanted the aircraft to prove itself before it put its own A380s into operation.[5]
Airbus A340 in maintenance
The 787 order was announced on April 24, 2007, and it included
an order of fifteen 787-9s with options on eight more and purchase rights on twenty more. The aircraft will replace Virgin’s
older A340-300s and will enable network growth.[6] Virgin
has listed Rio de Janeiro, Seattle,
Vancouver, Bangkok, and Melbourne as possible new destinations for the aircraft, while also stating that the 787’s long range would
make non-stop operations from London to Perth, Australia and Honolulu, Hawaii economically viable for the first time in the airline’s history.[7] Virgin increased its 787 order to twenty-three on July 8, 2007, the day the 787 made its world debut, by converting its eight
outstanding options into firm orders.[8]
Virgin is also in negotiations with both Boeing and Airbus
over an order for ten high-capacity, fuel-efficient, long-haul, widebodied jets to replace the airline's Gatwick-based Boeing
747-400 fleet. This could potentially be either a new order for the Boeing 747-8 or an
order for additional Airbus A380-800s. The decision is expected in May 2008. Deliveries of the new fleet are to begin in 2012, in
time for the 2012 London Olympics.[9]
Virgin’s aircraft are painted in a mainly red and silver livery that was introduced in October 2006 with the delivery of
G-VRED, and will eventually adorn the entire fleet. Near the nose of each aircraft is a pinup
girl motif designed by British artist Ken White, called a “Scarlet Lady”. Each one carries a Union Flag and has a unique name. The names are usually feminine, such as Ladybird, Island Lady
and Ruby Tuesday, but are sometimes named after destinations. A notable exception is The Spirit of Sir Freddie. It
was named in honour of Freddie Laker of the defunct Laker Airways, who helped get Virgin
Atlantic up and running following the demise of his own airline. G-VFAB, Lady Penelope, gained a special edition livery to
celebrate Virgin Atlantic’s 21st birthday. The Scarlet Lady was moved to the rear of the aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, and the
aircraft was temporarily renamed Birthday Girl.
On September 27, 2006, Richard Branson, on behalf of Virgin Atlantic Airways, announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions by cutting down on 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.[10]
Two Virgin Atlantic aircraft are featured briefly in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. One Airbus A340-600 (G-VWIN) and one
Boeing 747-400-along with Richard Branson and Virgin Atlantic crew—are part of a scene at Miami International Airport (although the sequence was filmed at Ruzyně International Airport in Prague).[11]
Current
-
Virgin Atlantic’s fleet consists of the following aircraft as of August 2007:
Virgin Atlantic Airways Fleet
| Aircraft |
Total |
Passengers
(Upper/Premium Economy/Economy) |
Notes |
| Airbus A340-300 |
6 |
240 (34/35/171)
255(40/28/187) |
|
| Airbus A340-600 |
19
(6 orders)
(13 options) |
308 (45/38/225) |
Deliveries: 2007-2009 |
| Airbus A380-800 |
(6 orders)
(6 options) |
|
Entry into service: 2013 |
| Boeing 747-400 |
13 |
LGW 1
452 (14/58/380)
LGW 2
451 (14/58/379)
LHR
386 (44/32/310)
LHR New
344 (54/62/228) |
LHR New interiors to be installed for LHR fleet |
| Boeing 787-9 |
(23 orders)
|
|
Entry into service: 2011 |
Retired
In the past, Virgin Atlantic has operated a variety of aircraft. Its retired fleet consists of:
Cabin
Upper Class
Upper Class is the equivalent of business class on all of Virgin Atlantic Airways'
flights. The Upper Class seat is claimed by the airline to be the biggest fully flat bed compared with any other airline's
business class service (it is at least 202 cm long and 84 cm wide at the shoulders), but they are not the only airline to make
this claim.[12] All but one aircraft in the Virgin Atlantic
fleet (G-VSUN) have the Upper Class Suite. G-VSUN will not have the new product until its refit in 2008.[13]
The airline does not offer a traditional First Class cabin service, although
some commentators erroneously state that Upper Class is equivalent to First—whereas the de
facto international standard of service class codes usually indicate that it is a "Premium Business Class" (denoted by
the letter J).[14]
Premium Economy
Premium Economy provides a separate check-in, priority boarding ahead of Economy passengers, a wider seat with more legroom
than Economy and additional cabin services. In November 2006 Virgin launched an updated Premium Economy product with a wider seat
and laptop power, which is continually being rolled out across the fleet, starting with the London-Heathrow-based A340 aircraft.
As of late July 2007 all the A340s but one, G-VSUN, have the new product. As is the situation with its old Upper Class
configuration, G-VSUN will not have the new product until its refit in 2008. The 747s will start to be refitted from the third
quarter of 2008. Refitted Heathrow-based 747s will move all of the Premium Economy seats downstairs, leaving the upper deck
entirely for Upper Class. The number of Premium Economy seats on these aircraft will increase from 32 to 62 seats.[15]
In the same way that Upper Class is sometimes mistaken for a First Class product, Premium Economy is sometimes wrongly
referred to as Business Class, whereas the letter W usually refers to "Premium Economy" service (see also:
Premium Economy).
Economy
Economy seats include a maximum seat pitch of 81 cm (depending on aircraft type). Inflight drinks are free. An updated Economy
seat, with adjustable lumbar support has been fitted to some A340-600 aircraft, and is continually being rolled out across the
fleet.
In flight entertainment
All Virgin Atlantic aircraft offer seat-back personal TVs. Certain aircraft (some 747-400s 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 various aircraft in the fleet. These have smaller screens and are
constantly broadcasting audio and video on a loop rather than broadcasting on demand.
Incidents and accidents
Airbus 340-600 at Tokyo-Narita
- 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. [16]
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
Originally an Airbus slogan when newer versions of the A340 were built until Virgin inherited the slogan. These were written
on the engines of planes, because all Virgin's planes at the time were quad-jets 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". Continued use of the slogan would have been hypocritical with
Virgin's 2007 order for Boeing 787 twin-jet aircraft.
Used to advertise Virgin's London to Hong Kong to Sydney
service, the Q being Qantas which also operates the same route. It was also used to
promote Virgin's online check-in feature that allowed passengers to avoid the ""Q's"" (queues).
- "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 of 2003 after British Airways
announced it would retire Concorde the following October.
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).
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"
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".
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. Virgin Books Ltd.. ISBN 0-7535-1020-0.
See also
References
- ^ Operating
Licence
- ^ West Sussex County Times, Friday, January 20, 1984 Page 1
- ^ 2006 UK Airline Statistics. UK CAA. Retrieved on 2007-07-09.
- ^ a b Losing my Virginity - The Autobiography., Branson, R., Virgin Books
Ltd., London, 2006 (2nd reprint), p. 362
- ^ Goldstein, Steve. "Virgin Atlantic to delay A380 deliveries until 2013", Dow
Jones MarketWatch, October 26, 2006. Retrieved on
2006-10-26.
- ^ "Virgin Reveals Dreamliner order", Airliner World, June 2007, p. 4.
- ^ Virgin Atlantic Press Release dated 24 April 2007
- ^ http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2121039,00.html
- ^ AIRwise.com, 18 October, 2007 - Virgin Atlantic In Talks Over 10 Long-haul Planes
- ^ http://today.reuters.com/news/ArticleInvesting.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-09-27T193141Z_01_N27286580_RTRIDST_0_AIRLINES-VIRGIN-PICTURE-UPDATE-1.XML
- ^ "James Bond Seeks Out Virgin Atlantic for "Casino Royale" Assignment," Virgin Atlantic press release, 4 July 2006.
- ^ Singapore Airlines "The largest full-flat bed in Business Class"
- ^ http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/whatsonboard/upperclass/upperclasstonairobi.jsp
- ^ Travel Manager Resource Center
- ^ Virgin Atlantic
744 seating configuration 4. Retrieved on October 20, 2007.
- ^ Airbus A340-642, G-VATL. UK AAIB. Retrieved on 2007-07-26.
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