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 [...]
Virgin Atlantic boss calls on Govt to make ‘difficult decisions’ and bring pound up September 27, 2022 Virgin Atlantic’s boss Shai Weiss has called on Prime Minister Liz Truss to make “difficult decisions” and bring the pound’s value up. “The message to the government is pretty clear in my mind,” he told journalists on Tuesday morning. “Prime Minister Liz Truss has taken difficult decisions upon entering the role. “Maybe you need to [...]
Virgin Atlantic to join global airline alliance SkyTeam from 2023 September 27, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has announced it will join global airline alliance SkyTeam from early 2023, becoming the first carrier to enter the organisation in eight years. It will also be the first and only UK airline to become a SkyTeam member. Chief executive Shai Weiss told journalists on Tuesday morning the move was “an obvious extension” [...]
London airports cancel flights to avoid noise on Queen’s funeral September 15, 2022 London airports such as Heathrow and London City are cancelling flights to avoid noise on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral. Heathrow has announced it will cut 15 per cent of its daily schedule, i.e. more than 100 flights, while London City will not fly over Westminster. The west London hub – jointly with [...]
Heathrow hits back after Virgin Atlantic says airport ‘fleecing’ passengers with ‘disproportionate’ fees May 12, 2022 THE EXTRAORDINARY public spat between two of the world’s largest airlines and Heathrow airport moved into another stratosphere yesterday after Virgin Atlantic’s boss said Heathrow was “abusing its monopoly to fleece passengers.” Both Virgin and BA-owner IAG have hit out at Heathrow after the airport asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to allow it to [...]
Tail between the legs: NYC-bound Virgin Atlantic plane u-turns due to ‘rostering error’ May 5, 2022 A Virgin Atlantic plane was forced to go back to Heathrow due to one of its pilots being not properly trained. The plane, which was headed towards New York, was 40 minutes into its journey on Monday when the personnel realised there had been a “rostering error” which put a not fully qualified pilot on [...]
Virgin Atlantic accuses Heathrow of ‘cynically’ downplaying recovery to increase fees May 2, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has accused Heathrow of “cynically” downplaying its recovery to increase passenger fees. “With remaining UK travel restrictions now removed, Heathrow is set to be the busiest airport in Europe this year,” a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told aviation website Simpleflying today. The airline accused the London-hub of “seeding doubt in the strength of demand” [...]
Virgin Atlantic reaps the rewards from oil bet in pandemic rebound March 13, 2022 Virgin Atlantic will offer the same number of seats for customers as this summer as it did in 2019 - prior to the pandemic.