Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is adding a second daily flight to Miami for the winter season 2015/2016. The second flight, operated with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, will start on October 25, 2015 from London (Heathrow) per Airline Route. The second flight will compliment the daily Boeing 747-400 flight.
Copyright Photo: Airbus A330-343 G-VNYC (msn 1315) taxies at the London Heathrow base.
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) will operate its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner daily to Dubai, Johannesburg and Shanghai (Pudong) from London (Heathrow) starting on October 25, 2015 per Airline Route.
Copyright Photo: Ian Bowley/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 787-9 G-VNEW (msn 40956) “Birthday Girl” is pictured at East Midlands on a training flight.
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) will expand their partnership between the U.K. and U.S. next year with the introduction of Deltaโs nonstop service from London to Philadelphia.
Starting on April 8, 2015 the daily service will be Deltaโs eighth destination to the U.S. from Heathrow. By next summer, the partnership will offer 39 daily flights to 16 destinations across North America from the U.K..
Deltaโs Philadelphia service will be operated from Heathrow Terminal 4 using a Boeing 757-200 aircraft with 164 seats. Passengers travelling in the BusinessElite cabin will enjoy fully flat-bed seats and a range of dining options. Additionally, throughout the aircraft, all passengers will have access to on-demand in-flight entertainment.
To date, more than four million people have flown on the Delta-Virgin Atlantic partnership.
Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-TWA/American Boeing 757-2Q8 N706TW (msn 28165) arrives in New York (JFK).
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) yesterday (October 28) introduced its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (G-VNEW, “Birthday Girl) on the London (Heathrow)-Boston route as planned.
The airline celebrated the new launch with this entry in its blog:
In 1984, the inaugural Virgin Atlantic transatlantic flight took place. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of this historic event, weโre introducing our new Boeing 787-9, also known as the โDreamliner.โ
Named “Birthday Girl”, this brand new aircraft started flying from London to Boston, on October 28, 2014. Itโs a whole new chapter for air travel. Hereโs whyโฆ
The Virgin Atlantic Boeing Dreamliner 787-9The new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Prepare for an evolution in air travel
A strong connection
Now, you can stay connected throughout the whole flight with the onboard WiFi connection. So you can tweet from your seat or make a call mid air.
The Wander Wall
Head over to grab a bite to eat or a drink and meet other travellers at the Wander Wall in Premium Economy. And make sure you say hello to our friendly cabin crew, because if there’s one thing they love, it’s getting to know customers from across the globe. Stretching your legs has never been so interesting.
A bright idea
The dynamic new mood lighting on board the 787 Dreamliner
Feel lighter, brighter and say goodbye to jet lag. The new dynamic mood lighting on the 787 adjusts throughout the flight to the destination time zone, helping you arrive feeling relaxed and as energised as you would on a normal day.
Drinks all round
The Dreamliner Bar, a social space for Upper Class travellers
The Upper Class Bar is the new social space for Upper Class travellers. You can relax, chat to friends and other customers. Or just take some time out to enjoy the extraordinary views over your favourite drink. Unwinding never felt so good.
Sitting comfortably
The new 787 offers maximum legroom and soft seating throughout all cabins
Economy seating on the 787 is more comfortable than ever. Weโve made the most of the space around the seats, so thereโs maximum legroom and plenty of space for reclining. Whichever cabin youโre in, the seats are soft and beautifully designed. And if youโre travelling in Upper Class, you can look forward to stretching out in a 33″ wide flat bed. Ceilings throughout are also higher, allowing more air and light to circulate and giving a feeling of space and freedom.
Time flies
Birthday Girl has a maximum altitude of 40,000 feet, a range of over 8,300 miles and speeds of over 640 mph. Prepare to reach your destination faster than you ever thought possible.
Pure and simple
Feeling comfortable onboard the 787 goes even further than advanced seating and ample legroom. The airโs cleaner and the cabin pressure is lower, meaning youโll arrive feeling refreshed and revived. Not only that, the windows are the largest on any commercial aircraft. So you can eat, dine or relax in perfectly natural light. And when youโre ready for the end of the day, the dynamic mood lighting and electronically dimmable windows lower the brightness.
Ending on a high note
Our new 787 is 21% more fuel efficient than the aircraft itโs replacing. It’s innovation at its greenest.
Our 787 Dreamliner is innovative, luxurious and miles ahead. And it’s built to make flying even more enjoyable.
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) this weekend are marking the launch of their new services between London (Heathrow) and Los Angeles and London-Heathrow and Atlanta respectively.
The new routes are the first transfer of operations between the two airlines since the launch of their joint venture earlier this year and will offer more choice and flexibility for both airlinesโ customers on these key routes across the Atlantic.
From Sunday, Delta will be flying nonstop from London to California for the first time with one of two daily Heathrow-Los Angeles flights previously operated by Virgin Atlantic. The route is Deltaโs seventh nonstop destination between London and the United States. Virgin Atlantic, meanwhile, is operating its first ever flights into the worldโs busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, having taken over one of Deltaโs three daily services, and is now able to offer more than 100 additional international and domestic connections to its customers at Deltaโs hub airport.
Delta and Virgin Atlantic will operate their Los Angeles and Atlanta services at Heathrow Terminal 3. This co-location adds to the New York-JFK, Boston and Seattle/Tacoma joint venture flights, which already operate from Terminal 3. This provides convenient connections and a seamless customer experience for passengers of both airlines, including access to Virgin Atlanticโs award winning Clubhouse for all business class passengers. Both carriers also offer full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access on all business class flights between the U.K and U.S..
Virgin Atlantic expects to fly around 160,000 passengers annually to Atlanta and beyond on its new service providing convenient connections to Delta flights across the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean. Virgin Atlantic has recently announced plans to add a second daily seasonal flight to Atlanta in summer 2015 as part of a package of investment into North American routes that will see the total number of peak day flights operated by the joint venture at 37 from March.
Since the start of the Delta and Virgin Atlantic trans-Atlantic joint venture, 3.5 million passengers have experienced the benefits of the partnership. The two airlines also have a codeshare agreement in place, maximizing the customer appeal of the joint schedule. The partnership enables the airlines to offer more flight choices for travellers on both sides of the Atlantic by improving their travel options.
Top Copyright Photo: Delta will operate the Boeing 767-300 ER on the LHR-LAX route. Delta’s Boeing 767-332 ER N16065 (msn 30199) now carries special “Andrew Young – Atlanta ‘s Ambassador to the World” markings by the nose saluting the diplomatic career of Atlanta native Andrew Young.
Delta Air Lines Aircraft Slide Show:ย
Virgin Atlantic Aircraft Slide Show:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. Virgin Atlantic will operate the Airbus A330-300 on the LHR-ATL route. Airbus A330-343 G-VUFO (msn 1352) climbs away from the runway at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) and Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first 787-9 Dreamliner yesterday (October 9). The airline is the first European airline to take delivery of the 787-9 and plans to operate the airplane initially on its London Heathrow to Boston route.
Virgin Atlantic’s first 787-9 touched down at London’s Gatwick Airport today (October 10) following a more than 7,400 kilometer (4,000 nautical mile) nonstop flight from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The 787-9 registered as G-VNEW (msn 40956) (above), is named ‘Birthday Girl’ in reference to the UK carrier’s 30th anniversary and is the first of 16 787-9s Virgin Atlantic has ordered from Boeing.
The 787-9 complements and extends the 787 family. With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet (6 meters) over the 787-8, the 787-9 will fly up to 40 more passengers an additional 830 kilometers (450 nautical miles) with the same exceptional environmental performance โ 20 percent less fuel use and 20 percent fewer emissions than the airplanes they replace.
The airplane leverages the visionary design of the 787-8, offering passenger-pleasing features such as large windows, large stow bins, modern LED lighting, higher humidity, a lower cabin altitude, cleaner air and a smoother ride.
Based out of London’s Gatwick and Heathrow Airports, as well as Manchester and Glasgow Airports, Virgin Atlantic Airways operates a fleet of approximately 40 airplanes. Along with its first 787-9, the British operator also has a Boeing fleet of 12 Boeing 747-400s operating on routes across North America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
To date, nearly 60 customers from around the world have ordered more than 1,000 Dreamliners, approximately 40 percent of which are 787-9s.
Above: Anatomy of a Boeing 787.
Meet Hayley Burton, Virgin Atlantic’s 787 Program Manager (from the Virgin Atlantic blog):
In October, weโre welcoming โBirthday Girlโ โ the new Boeing 787-9 aircraft that will lead our 16-strong Dreamliner fleet โ which might just go down in history as the planes that revolutionized our business. And while weโre bursting with excitement about it, weโve been working up to this moment for several years. Someone who has been helping keep the project running smoothly from the very beginning is Hayley Burton, a Program Planner and self-confessed airline geek.
Hayley wasnโt always an airline geek though. In fact, she started as a Business/Data Analyst and joined Virgin Atlantic three and a half years ago, supporting projects in Engineering. โIโve always been interested in many different things. Following my school education, I started my work life as a legal secretary and ended up forging a career within Information Management & Technology for the NHS. I then completed a HND in Computing & Software Development as formal qualification of my skills and knowledge within this area.โ
Although Hayley didnโt forecast a career in aviation, when she saw the role within Virgin Atlantic, she couldnโt resist applying. “I saw the ad and my best friend, who works at Virgin Atlantic, said Iโd really fit in here โ so that was it really!โ And even though she wasnโt a specialist or industry expert, her transferable skills and drive to tackle big challenges head-on, meant she saw the potential for her skills to contribute to our business, but also the chance to learn something new too.
The 787 program
โMoving onto the 787 program was a real opportunity for me to understand the other elements of the business and where and how they all worked together. When I was working in Engineering, that was the only area I learned about. Now, Iโm fortunate enough to be able to look at lots of elements with multiple areas โ from Flight Operations to Cabin Crew and Service Delivery. Itโs really enabled me to see the airline as a whole.โ
Itโs true. As Program Planner, Hayley really does have a finger in almost every pie. โI oversee the entire project planning within the programme. I create a very high-level plan and track all of our business areas within it. So itโs really about understanding what people have to deliver and when, their required outcomes, identifying any potential risks and how theyโre managed โ including financials. Iโm also part of the 787 comms team, so Iโm regularly in touch with internal and external stakeholders, and Iโm also a bit of a right-hand-man for my Program Manager. I liaise with my Boeing counter-part who I collaborate with on a regular basis in order to review the plans and share information on our progress.โ
Hayley says the moment Boeing toured the UK with the 787 and she got to see it upfront, was when she realized what a great project this was. โThis fleet is so important to our business; itโs a real game-changer. Not only will the fuel efficiency save us money, but the aircraft are e-enabled, meaning they use state-of-the-art technology.โ
โFrom a technology perspective weโve installed and built a new IT infrastructure in order to process the waves of data that weโre going to receive from the aircraft and thatโs really exciting. Itโll be used to work out how we fly, what routes we take, how we maintain the aircraft and how we can improve all those thingsโ.
Itโs been a challenging project but one that she says has been exciting and well-executed. โWeโve definitely rolled our sleeves up and thrown ourselves at this. Boeing has told us that we out-weigh other operators in being prepared for this aircraft. And as the arrival of the first aircraft draws ever closer, weโve set up a countdown clock โ you can feel the excitement. We have a fantastic programme team and everyone has really pulled together.โ
Visiting Seattle
While sheโs impressed with the team and how our areas work together, sheโs says the highlight so far has been her visit to Boeingโs Everett hangar in Seattle โ the worldโs largest building by volume.
โWe travelled around the hangar in golf carts and there were people just everywhere constructing these four airplanes on the 787 production line โ they were literally being built before my eyes. It was just amazing. I really got to see something that people โ even in the industry โ donโt usually get to see.โ
So apart from once-in-a-lifetime experiences, whatโs the best part of working on this project? โEverything surprises me about this job. Iโve learned so much through my work on this program, itโs unbelievable. My knowledge about how the airline industry works is immense and Iโm still trying to cram it into my brain!โ
โMy goal is to manage a major program like this in the future; the skills and experiences Iโve built upon by working at Virgin Atlantic makes me feel optimistic about my future career.โ
Update: On October 23, 2014 the new type entered revenue service on the London (Heathrow)-Atlanta route. The airline issued this statement:
Virgin Atlanticโs first Boeing 787 aircraft, Birthday Girl took to the skies October 23, flying from London to Atlanta on a special celebration flight.
Guests on board include BRIT Award-winning 4-piece Rudimental and hit-makers Gorgon City (below). The two London based bands will perform the first ever gig to be live streamed from over the Atlantic Ocean to the world and a plane packed full of VIP guests and an exclusive audience of super fans who won spaces on the flight.
Also on board is TV chef Lorraine Pascale. Best known for her hit TV series and recipe books, Lorraine has been working with the team at the airline to create signature dishes for Virgin Atlanticโs Upper Class passengers along with a variety of childrenโs meals to be served throughout every cabin.
Dishes on-board will include Lorraineโs โMarvellousโ macโnโcheese with pancetta, Sweet & sour pork balls with sunshine rice and โMumโsโ chili con carne with calypso rice.
Lorraineโs new menu will be officially launched on services leaving the UK from 28th October but as a special one-off all guests on board the celebration flight to Atlanta will have the chance to experience her new dishes in every cabin.
To accompany Lorraineโs amazing food and making a special appearance on board for the first time is Virgin Atlanticโs new sparkling wine from English winery Hambledon Vineyard. Proudly grown and produced in Hampshire, Meon Hill Grand Reserve has been specifically selected to compliment the cabin pressure and humidity of the 787 cabin and has been found to stay bubbly for longer. The new sparkling wine will be launched on Birthday Girl and will be available exclusively on the 787 aircraft.
Birthday Girl will start her first commercial flight on October 28 to Boston and other Dreamliners will be deployed on other key London to US East Coast market initially, with subsequent services between Heathrow and Washington, Heathrow and Newark and Heathrow and New York JFK scheduled to start in the following five months.
Video of the live performance:
Top Copyright Photo: Daniel Gorun/AirlinersGallery.com. G-VNEW arrives back at Paine Field after a sunset test flight.
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is shutting down its Airbus A320 feeder operation operated by Aer Lingus (Dublin). The feeder flights known as “Little Red” will end on September 26, 2015. The operation currently feeds London (Heathrow) from Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester. Manchester flights will end sooner on March 28, 2015.
The Little Red operation is flown by four wet leased Airbus A320s.
Aberdeen flights began on April 9, 2013
Edinburgh flights began on April 5, 2013
Manchester flights began on March 31, 2013
On October 6 the airline issued this statement:
Little Red was launched in March 2013 as an attempt to reintroduce consumer choice on key domestic services after British Airwaysโ takeover of bmi gifted them a monopoly on these routes. Over the past eighteen months, Little Red has delivered for consumers, leading the way on customer service and on-time performance at Heathrow. Flying well over a million passengers between London, Scotland and Manchester, Little Red also offers convenient onward connections to the rest of Virgin Atlanticโs worldwide network.
Bookings grew steadily for the service in the first part of 2014 with the airline enjoying excellent customer feedback. However the demand has been predominantly from point to point customers rather than connecting traffic. High levels of connections onto Virgin Atlanticโs long haul network have always been important to the success of Little Red.
Chief Executive Craig Kreeger has committed to returning Virgin Atlantic to profit by the end of this year and the airline is on track to deliver that, however Little Red has unfortunately not been able to make a positive contribution to Virgin Atlanticโs network.
โLittle Red came about through an enduring passion at Virgin Atlantic to make a difference for our customers. We really wanted it to be a success and everyone involved worked extremely hard and has given it their best efforts.
โIt was always a huge challenge on behalf of the consumer, as the totally inadequate number of slots made available by the European Commission did not deliver close to BAโs network position, even when supplemented by our own slots to fly between Heathrow and Manchester. The time lag between the takeover of bmi and our entering the market also meant Little Red initially faced an uphill battle to win recognition and convert customers to its services.
โWhile this challenged environment meant Little Red ultimately did not deliver the results we had hoped, this certainly will not dampen our enthusiasm to try new things in the future. We have always fought for what we believe is best for our customers and we will continue to do so.
โWeโre very grateful for all of the support and goodwill shown to Little Red in Scotland and Manchester, where we received a warm welcome. I would also like to personally thank the Little Red team who have been fantastic ambassadors providing exceptionally high levels of customer service. We look forward to continuing to work with the Little Red cabin crew as we will be offering them roles on our long haul operation when these services end.โ
The President of Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard Branson, said:
“When the competition authorities allowed British Airways to take over British Midland and all of its slots, we feared there was little we could do to challenge BAโs huge domestic and European network built through decades of dominance.
โTo remedy this, we were offered a meagre package of slots with a number of constraints on how to use them and we decided to lease a few planes on a short term basis to give it our best shot. The odds were stacked against us and sadly we just couldnโt attract enough corporate business on these routes. We will stop flying the Little Red services between Manchester and London at the end of March 2015 and the Aberdeen and Edinburgh services at the end of September 2015.
โThe team did their absolute best to make a go of it and I thank them all for their amazing efforts. In the meantime, keep flying on Little Red where you’ll continue to get amazing offers and great service.โ
Virgin Atlantic would like to thank its customers and teams in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Heathrow and Manchester as well as its partner Aer Lingus, for their loyalty and commitment to Little Red and looks forward to continuing to work with them on the service over the next 12 months.
Passengers can continue to book with Little Red with confidence until this time and frequent fliers will be able to enjoy special loyalty benefits for doing so. There will be an increased earning incentive per-sector as well as a significant reduction in the number of Flying Club miles needed to redeem a flight.
The airline remains committed to its operations in both Manchester and Scotland. Its existing services from Manchester to Orlando, Barbados and Las Vegas will continue, with the addition next summer of a new daily Virgin Atlantic flight between Manchester and Atlanta. In Scotland, the popular seasonal service from Glasgow to Orlando will continue with eight extra return flights just announced for summer 2015, alongside a new route between Glasgow and Las Vegas.
The decision on the airlineโs short haul carrier follows a major review of Virgin Atlanticโs wider network. Last month the airline announced a network update delivering five new daily transatlantic flights and an ambition to grow to record levels of sustained profitability by 2018. This will be supported by a major programme of work that will see ยฃ300m invested into customer experience.
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is close to making a decision on its five Boeing 787 options according to this report by Bloomberg. The British carrier is updating its fleet plans as it retires its older aircraft types with the new generation aircraft.
According to the report, Virgin Atlantic will retire the last Airbus A340-300 (above) at the end of February 2015. The last five Boeing 747-400s will leave the fleet between September 2015 and July 2016.
Two Airbus A340-600s will be retired at the beginning of 2015.
Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. The older Airbus A340-300s will be the first to be retired in February.ย Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Airbus A340-313 G-VFAR (msn 225) climbs away from London’s Heathrow Airport.
Virgin Atlantic Airways‘ (London) first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner registered as G-VNEW (msn 40956) and named “Birthday Girl” (above) yesterday (September 23) made its first flight at Paine Field near Everett, Washington.
Top Copyright Photo: Bernie Leighton/AirlinersGallery.com. G-VNEW is pictured at Paine Field preparing for its first flight.
Virgin Atlantic:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Daniel Gorun. G-VNEW arrives back at Paine Field after the historic first flight.
Video: The building of the first Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9:
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is getting its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (G-VAHH, msn 37967) later this month. The airline will also 264-seat introduce its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the London (Heathrow)-Newark route starting on January 19, 2015 per Airline Route. This will be the third route for the new type. The 787-9 will enter revenue service on October 28 on the London (Heathrow)-Boston route as previously reported.
In other news, the airline is not commenting on media speculation that it may be considering dropping its Little Red (operated by Aer Lingus) operation due to poor loads.ย Little Red operates feeder flights from London (Heathrow) to Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Manchester.
Read the full story from The Telegraph: CLICK HERE
Image above: Virgin Atlantic.
Virgin Atlantic:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Operated by Aer Lingus, Airbus A320-214 EI-EZV (msn 2001) of Little Red arrives at the London (Heathrow) hub.
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