subject: Virgin Atlantic Airlines [print this page] Virgin Atlantic is of course the airline with the famous CEO, Richard Branson. The airline is owned jointly by the Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines. The airline was profitable within its first full year of operation.
Since Virgin Atlantic started there have been issues between them and British Airways. These stemmed from the fact that Virgin Atlantic was the new kid on the block and was challenging BA in open competition, which had never before happened. The competition culminated with BA having to pay fines to Virgin Atlantic for dirty tricks it employed in its marketing against Virgin.
The Virgin Airlines planes have three cabin classes. These are Economy, Premium Economy and Upper Class. However regardless of which class one flies, the chairs all have seat-back televisions for entertainment. Upper class passengers have a special check-in, larger seats, chargers and space for a laptop and a more comprehensive menu. Virgin Airlines Upper Class is basically their version of business class. The airline is based at Heathrow Airport in the UK, but flies to hundreds of destinations. The airline also flies out from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow airports. Just a few of their international destinations includes: South Africa, Kenya, Japan, India, Cuba, New York, and Australia.
Currently Virgin Atlantic uses both Airbus and Boeing airplanes. They are constantly updating and renewing their fleet, and Branson is always trying to find ways to make the aircraft more fuel efficient as both a cost cutting exercise and for the good of the environment.
Overall, Virgin Atlantic has done exceptionally well to enter a highly competitive market and not only survive but grow exponentially.
