Up-up but not away: Branson’s historic Virgin Orbit UK rocket launch ends in failure after anomaly forces return to earth January 10, 2023 An attempt to make British space history by launching a rocket into orbit from UK soil has ended in failure after suffering an “anomaly” during the flight. After taking off from Cornwall, the Virgin Orbit plane flew to 35,000ft over the Atlantic Ocean where it jettisoned the rocket containing nine small satellites towards space. Organisers [...]
Virgin Atlantic receive Govt funding for first ever net-zero transatlantic flight December 16, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has made aviation history as it received £1m in government funding to operate the world’s first net-zero transatlantic flight. The London to New York flight – which is set to take off next year – will be fully powered by sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) instead of kerosene. A byproduct of solid waste and [...]
Virgin Atlantic’s boss calls Heathrow’s proposed price cap ‘unacceptable’ December 8, 2022 The row between Heathrow and its airport customers has reached a new high after Shai Weiss, the chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, called out the UK aviation regulator over the airport’s interim price cap. Weiss has accused the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of “putting the interests of a monopolistic airport and its shareholders ahead of [...]
Virgin Atlantic: Supporting Heathrow’s expansion ‘difficult’ unless quality service provided November 21, 2022 Supporting Heathrow’s expansion will be difficult until the west London hub can provide a quality service to airlines and passengers, according to Virgin Atlantic’s boss Shai Weiss. The airport’s expansion plans – which include building a third runway – were backed by former Prime Minister Liz Truss as well as then-transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan. “[The [...]
Virgin crew on ‘Rainbow’ flight with England team won’t wear LGBT-friendly uniform due to Qatar’s strict rules November 15, 2022 The Virgin Atlantic flight taking England’s team to Qatar is called ‘Rain Bow’ – but its staff won’t be able to wear gender-fluid uniform over concerns about their safety. The airline announced a change to the uniform policy this week with Qatar being a very conservative country where same-sex relations and any pubic displays of [...]
Delta boss: US’s appetite for transatlantic travel will not be over quickly November 3, 2022 Transatlantic travel is here to stay, said Ed Bastian, boss of US legacy carrier Delta. According to the chief executive, Americans’ appetite for hopping over the pond has been “truly unprecedented” following the reopening of air travel post pandemic. “So many Americans haven’t been able to go for up to three years,” he told journalists [...]
Virgin Atlantic’s chief warns Heathrow to prepare for winter after pandemic pandemonium November 2, 2022 Virgin Atlantic’s chief executive Shai Weiss said today Heathrow better be ready to welcome the hundreds of thousands of passengers expected during the peak winter period. “There is enough time to get ready for the peak winter,” he told City A.M. “We intend to fly and to serve our passengers and we expect Heathrow to [...]
Chapter closed: Virgin Atlantic shuts Hong Kong route after 30 years October 5, 2022 Virgin Atlantic announced today it has dropped the Heathrow to Hong Kong route after almost 30 years due to the closure of Russia’s airspace and related issues. As part of the move, the airliner also shut down its office in the city-state. The legacy carrier said on Wednesday it would not resume flights – halted [...]
Richard Branson pumps £30m windfall into Virgin Brands October 4, 2022 Richard Branson has invested some £30m worth of royalties back into his Virgin brand. The British billionaire pumped £25m into the Virgin group last year, down from £85m in 2018. The cash is intended to help support the businesses hit hardest by successive Covid-19 lockdowns worldwide, namely Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Galactic, Branson’s lagging space venture, [...]
Virgin Atlantic removes need for staff members to wear gendered clothing September 28, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has unveiled a new policy which removes the requirement for staff to wear gendered clothing. The British airline will now allow crew, pilots, and ground teams to wear either red or burgundy depending on their gender identity – removing the previous need for men to wear burgundy and women, red. In a move [...]