Virgin Atlantic
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| Founded | 1984 | ||||||
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| Hubs | London Heathrow Airport London Gatwick Airport | ||||||
| Focus cities | Manchester Airport | ||||||
| Frequent-flyer program | Flying Club | ||||||
| Fleet size | 36 | ||||||
| Destinations | 31 | ||||||
| Parent company | Virgin Group | ||||||
| Headquarters | Crawley, England, United Kingdom | ||||||
| Key people | Richard Branson (Chairman), Steve Ridgway (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.virgin-atlantic.com | ||||||
Virgin Atlantic Airways (usually referred to as Virgin Atlantic) is an airline belonging to Richard Branson's Virgin Group. It operates long-haul routes between the United Kingdom and North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia. Its main bases are London Heathrow (LHR) and London Gatwick (LGW). Virgin has a smaller base at Manchester Airport (MAN) serving the USA and the Caribbean.
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 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 unprofitable so the idea of flying to the Falkland Islands was dropped. Hellary and Fields then decidedto try to secure a licence to fly from London Gatwick to JFK Airport in New York instead. 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 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 based at Newark Liberty International Airport, 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. Following 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 Airport and Newark 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).
Subsequent developments
In December 1999, Virgin Atlantic sold 49% of itself to Singapore Airlines for £600.25 million. Richard Branson's Virgin Group still owns 51% of the airline.
In August 2002, Virgin became the first airline to use the Airbus A340-600. Rolls-Royce have won all recent engine competitions for Virgin aircraft; the company's Trent 500s will 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 4.49 million in 2005, placing them ninth amongst UK airlines by this measure, bur a clear second in passenger-kilometres, because of the long-haul nature of Virgin's operations. (Source: United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority airline statistics, tables 0.1.6 for each year - see reference below).
During the 2012 Summer Olympic 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. [citation needed]
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 people'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 thousands of job losses 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 used to live 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 Airport, 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 April 1, 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 at 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.
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 [2].
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 the hapless 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 a record loss of £200m on Mr. Ayling's watch during the late 1990s.
Incidents and accidents
On June 19, 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 November 5, 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 February 8, 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).
On July 15, 2006, G-VWKD (an Airbus A340-600), during take off at Hong Kong International Airport, suffered damage because of a tailstrike and was forced to dump fuel in Hong Kong airspace and return to the airport for repairs. G-VMEG (another A340-600) was sent to rescue the stranded passengers.
Flying with Virgin
The airline has three classes of service: Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class.
Economy seats include a maximum seat pitch of 81 cm (depending on aircraft type). Inflight drinks are free and meals typically include ice-cream and a vegetarian option. An updated Economy seat, with adjustable lumbar support began operations on select A340-600 aircraft in mid-2006, and is continually being rolled out across the fleet.
Virgin Atlantic pioneered seat-back personal TVs in all classes, and has begun upgrading its aircraft to an Audio/Video on Demand (AVOD) system called V:Port. The V:Port system offers a choice of approximately 58 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 against other passengers.
Unlike some international carriers, Virgin also gives free personal amenity kits to passengers in all three classes, including items such as: toothbrush, pen, earplugs and eyemask. The Upper Class kit was modified in 2006 to cut down on costs. The packaging was changed to a paper material, and a majority of the items were removed. The intent was that passengers travelling in Upper Class would be able to choose from a wider variety of items by asking Upper Class staff. However due to complaints and problems with the service, Virgin Atlantic is reviewing it.
Premium Economy provides a separate check-in, a wider seat with more legroom than Economy, and a pre-flight glass of champagne. Other extras include a full range of newspapers and an after-dinner liqueur. Premium economy passengers also have priority boarding ahead of standard economy passengers. In November 2006 Virgin launched an updated Premium Economy product with purple leather seats and a wider seat than British Airways's business class offering, Club World. Other improvements from December 2006 include china dinnerware and specially designated cabin crew. Virgin aims to roll the new product across most of its fleet by early 2008.
Upper Class is what Virgin Atlantic calls its business-class product offering. Upper Class passengers can request complimentary limousine pick-up and drop-off (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. Second-phase improvements to the London Heathrow clubhouse were completed mid 2006 and it now offers a range of massage and grooming treatments (bookable in advance).
The Upper Class seat is claimed 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). Once again, a range of massage and grooming treatments are available to Upper Class passengers mid-flight, in addition to an onboard bar.
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 Airport to Orlando, and weekly services to Bridgetown and St Lucia.
Virgin flights between the United Kingdom and the United States or the Bahamas bear special names, such as The Trance Atlantic (Miami to Heathrow), The London Shuttle (Boston to Heathrow) or The Rising Star (Los Angeles to Heathrow). More information is available at their dedicated website: VirginAtlanticFlights.com.
- New Services in 2007
- London Heathrow to Chicago (Begins April 23, 2007)
- London Heathrow to Nairobi (Begins June 1, 2007)
- Glasgow to Orlando (Begins June 23, 2007/Seasonal)
- London Gatwick to Mauritius (Begins November 2007)
Fleet
The Virgin Atlantic fleet consists of the following aircraft as of December 2006:
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (Upper/Premium Economy/Economy) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A340-300 | 5 | 244 (34/35/175) | |
| Airbus A340-600 | 18 (7 orders) (13 options) |
311 (48/38/225) | |
| Boeing 747-400 | 13 | 358 (14/58/286) 394 (44/32/318) 424 (14/58/352) |
|
| Airbus A380-800 | (6 orders) (6 options) |
In November 2003 Virgin introduced the Upper Class Suite, which is the longest totally flat bed in Business Class. The Upper Class Suite is now finally fitted on all of Virgin's aircraft. As of July 2006, A340-300 G-VBUS and G-VSUN are on wet-lease to Virgin Nigeria Airways. 747s are used on all routes from Gatwick and Manchester. From Heathrow, Both 747s and A340s are used interchangeably, however 747s are normally used on routes to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
A new livery was introduced in October 2006 with the delivery of G-VRED. All new aircraft will wear this livery and existing aircraft will be changed as well.
| Designation | Name | Aircraft | Entertainment System |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-VAIR | Maiden Tokyo | A340-300 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VAST | Ladybird | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VATL | Miss Kitty | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VBIG | Tinker Belle | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VBLU | Soul Sister | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VEIL | Queen Of The Skies | A340-600 | 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 | V:PORT |
| G-VFIZ | Bubbles | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VFOX | Queen Of Clubs | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VGAL | Jersey Girl | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | NOVA |
| G-VGAS | Varga Girl | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VGOA | Indian Princess | A340-600 | 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 | V:PORT |
| G-VNAP | Sleeping Beauty | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VOGE | Cover Girl | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VRED | Scarlet Lady | A340-600 | 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 (Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VSHY | Madame Butterfly | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VSSH | Sweet Dreamer | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VTOP | Virginia Plain | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VWEB | Surfer Girl | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VWIN | Lady Luck | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VWKD | Miss Behavin | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| G-VWOW | Cosmic Girl | 747-400 (LHR Suite) | V:PORT |
| G-VXLG | Ruby Tuesday | 747-400 (LGW/MAN Suite) | ODYSSEY |
| G-VYOU | Emmeline Heaney | A340-600 | V:PORT |
| Designation | Name | Aircraft | Date Scheduled for Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| G-VBUG | Lady Bird | A340-600 | February 2007 |
| G-VFUN | Party Girl | A340-600 | December 2007 |
| G-VXXL | Virgin Lady | A380-800 | 2013 |
Virgin Atlantic has ordered 6 Airbus A380-800 aircraft with options on 6 more. The first delivery was expected to enter service in 2006 but was delayed until 2009 before Virgin finally deferred their order until 2013, arguing that it wanted the aircraft to prove itself before it put its own A380s into operation.[3] 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 other services, eg Orlando, is being explored (ref: Airliner World, March 2005). In the meantime, Virgin Atlantic will extend the leases on their Boeing 747-400s.
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 had several tongue in cheek registrations: California Girl was G-VLAX, after Los Angeles International Airport and Boston Belle was G-VJFK after Massachusetts' famous son, John F. Kennedy.
The Virgin livery features a pinup girl near the nose of each aircraft called the "Scarlet Lady", carrying a Union Jack in a form reminiscent of British Airways' "speedbird". She was designed by Alberto Vargas.
The following aircraft used to be in Virgin Atlantic's fleet:
- G-OUZO (Spirit of Melina) A320-200
- G-TKYO (Maiden Japan) 747-200
- G-VAEL (Maiden Toulouse) A340-300
- G-VATH (Hellenic Beauty) A321-200
- G-VBEE (Honey Pie) 747-200
- G-VBUS (Lady in Red) A340-300
- G-VCAT (Wild Thing) 747-200
- G-VFLY (Dragon Lady) A340-300
- G-VGIN (Scarlet Lady) 747-200
- G-VIBE (Dancing Queen/later: Spirit of New York) 747-200
- G-VIRG (Maiden Voyager) 747-200
- G-VJFK (Boston Belle) 747-200
- G-VKID (Sundance Kid/Virgin Sun) A320-200
- G-VKIS (Sunkissed Girl/Virgin Sun) A321-200
- G-VLAX (California Girl) 747-200
- G-VMED (Mediterranean Maiden) A320-200
- G-VMIA (Spirit of Sir Freddie) B747-100
- G-VOYG (Shady Lady) 747-200
- G-VPUF (High as a Kite) 747-200
- G-VRGN (Maid of Honour) 747-200
- G-VRUM (Calypso Queen) 747-200
- G-VSKY (China Girl) A340-300
- G-VSSS (Island Lady) 747-200
- G-VSUN (Rainbow Lady) A340-300
- G-VTAN (Sunshine Girl/Virgin Sun) A320-200
- G-VZZZ (Morning Glory) 747-200
Virgin's 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. 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".
- "Avoid The Q"
Used to advertise Virgin's London to Hong Kong to Sydney service, the Q being 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 of 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).
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".
Trivia
- Virgin Atlantic flight numbers are categorized by region. VS001-099 are to North America and the Caribbean, VS200-299 are to Greater China and Australia, VS300-399 are to India, VS400-499 are to the Middle East, VS600-699 are to Africa, and VS900-999 are to Japan.
- G-VAST, a 747-400 has featured in the BBC's Top Gear television show as a wind source to test the strength of cars in a crosswind.
- G-VFAB Lady Penelope gained a new livery to celebrate the airline's 21st birthday. The flying lady motif normally found near the nose of the aircraft was enlarged and moved to the rear of the Boeing 747-400 to create "Birthday Girl". A special VS45 flight then took off with Richard Branson, media and twenty-one 21 year old competition winners.[4]
- The Virgin Atlantic average fleet age is 6.1 years at June 2006.
- Virgin Atlantic is featured in the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale. Richard Branson (at security checks), Virgin Atlantic crew and two of its aircraft - one Airbus A340-600 (G-VWIN) and one Boeing 747-400 - are part of a scene at Miami International Airport (although the sequence was filmed in Prague).[5]
- On September 27, 2006, Richard Branson, on behalf of Virgin Atlantic, announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by cutting down on aircraft weight and fuel consumption. [4]
- Virgin has enjoyed several uniforms over the years, the most recent being a design by John Rocha. Female crew members wear a red suit jacket and narrow skirt, with a white blouse, and purple and scarlet neckscarf [5]. The men wear a charcoal grey suit, with a white shirt, grey waistcoat, and scarlet and purple tie.
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
See also
- Virgin America
- Virgin Blue
- Virgin Express
- Virgin Galactic
- Virgin Nigeria Airways
- Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer
External links
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
- V-Flyer customer-created site
- Virgin Atlantic Airways Fleet Age
- Virgin Atlantic Fleet Detail
- Virgin Atlantic Passenger Opinions
- LoveMySeat.com Seat Comfort Scores (Detailed seat maps and seat scores)
- Photos of Virgin Atlantic Airways aircraft
References
- ^ Operating Licence
- ^ West Sussex County Times, Friday, January 20, 1984 Page 1
- ^ Goldstein, Steve (October 26, 2006). "Virgin Atlantic to delay A380 deliveries until 2013". Dow Jones MarketWatch. Retrieved 2006-10-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ [1]
- ^ "James Bond Seeks Out Virgin Atlantic for "Casino Royale" Assignment," Virgin Atlantic press release, 4 July 2006.
- United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Official UK airline statistics for 2002 and 2005. Tables 0.1.6 - all operations.
