BA and Virgin to restart flights to China after three years as Beijing welcomes back visitors February 2, 2023 Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have announced they will return to China for the first time in three years following Beijing’s reopening. Richard Branson’s airline – which stopped operating flights into China in December 2020 – announced today it will resume daily flights between Heathrow and Shanghai from 1 May. Meanwhile British Airways (BA) will [...]
Virgin Atlantic to honour Queen with new transatlantic plane January 23, 2023 Queen Elizabeth II will be honoured by British carrier Virgin Atlantic which will name its new Airbus after the late monarch. Sir Richard Branson-owned Virgin will unveil its new Airbus A330neo, called Queen of the Skies, after Her Majesty who died late last year. The plane is due to take to the skies in April [...]
Virgin Orbit rocket launch failure to be investigated by UK officials January 13, 2023 UK officials will work with counterparts in the US to oversee an investigation into the failure of Virgin Orbit’s rocket launch mission from Cornwall. The Space Accident Investigation Authority (CAIS) said it will work alongside the Federal Aviation Administration to “ensure that any relevant safety lessons are learnt”. The organisations will oversee Virgin Orbit’s investigation. [...]
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 [...]