Sir Richard Branson founded Virgin Atlantic in 1984 after taking over a small airline called British Atlantic Airways and began flying from London to Newark taking over the small budget market forged by Sir Freddie Laker’s Skytrain. The airline, like its siblings in the enormous Virgin clan, is characterised by a sense of fun and cheekiness designed to upstage its older, stuffier competitors. In doing so it aims squarely at a younger market and takes advantage of Branson’s endless stream of marketing gimmicks designed to garner publicity for his ventures. In Virgin Atlantic’s case BA was the fusty old codger whose nose needed tweaking and after a sly anti-Virgin campaign BA lost a law suit that saw the young upstart cement its place in the aviation market.
The company is now owned 49% by Singapore Airlines and flies from London (Heathrow and Gatwick) and Manchester in the UK to a range of cities (currently 30) including in the US, Caribbean, Asia, Africa and Australia.
Virgin Atlantic flies a selection of Airbus A340’s and Boeing 747-400’s (currently 33 in the fleet) with a number of the double-decker A380’s scheduled for service in 2008. It has three classes – Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class. All offer personal TV, amenity kits and snack and meal services that are better than the average. Premium Economy buys you separate check-n, extra leg room and a larger seat. Upper Class, Virgin’s equivalent of business class, entitles you to limo airport transfers, use of the clubhouse lounge, and flat beds. Traveller feedback is usually positive with highlights being the airlines good price value, staff that are more friendly and engaging than the bureaucrat-types you often see on flag carriers, food and refreshments that are fresher and more imaginative than most and up-to-date in-flight entertainment to help the time pass.
Paris
