Virgin Atlantic

[Seasider]

I think the regional airports will be Flybe flights.

 

[Jerry]

I think the regional airports will be Flybe flights.

The Heathrow flights from my understanding will be Virgin branded same with European ones. They want to challenge BA.

 

[Coathanger16]

They want to challenge BA

Indeed. I've lost track of the number of articles I've read where Virgin have said they want to become the second national airline of the UK.

 

[User1007]

Question is if they can't get the slots at Heathrow, would Virgin serve some of those destinations from the regions and Manchester in particular instead?

Or, if they do get the slots, will they fill some of them by moving flights from Manchester?

 

[Philbky]

Or, if they do get the slots, will they fill some of them by moving flights from Manchester?

Hardly, they are slowly and steadily increasing their presence at MAN and as the LHR expansion is going to be a long story - it isn't just the runway that has to be built but new terminal capacity - they will continue to develop at MAN and once the flights are established there would be no point in moving them.

To my mind the intra UK flights are doubtful. Rail has vastly reduced the value of domestic flights in terms of time. What FlyBe has established, Virgin would obviously wish to hold but beyond that, and given UK commitments to reduce carbon emissions, expansion in that sector seems unlikely and, as we know, Virgin's last venture in that direction was abandoned.

Runway and terminal development at Heathrow apart, the major limiting factor to any VS expansion at LHR will be how slots are allocated when the new runway eventually opens. BA is very firmly against the new runway as it sees expansion at Heathrow as an opening for its competitors but you can bet your life that IAG will be at the front of the queue and whilst any form of Brexit may well cause problems for slot swapping between IAG members, no doubt ways will be found to protect BA's fortress.

Whatever else Virgin is no longer a small, quirky, independent playing David against a host of Goliaths. Its aspiration may seem like pipe dreams but it is now a major player, it has a solid product and the backing of a major investor with which it has already seen some route integration. There will no doubt be bumps along the way and a greater or lesser number of the routes will not happen but the airline has put down a marker and its competitors will have to plan accordingly.

 

[Jerry]

New special livery for a Virgin 747:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1176500850170241025

 

[Scottie Dog]

Jerry, it says the page does not exist??

 

[Jerry]

Jerry, it says the page does not exist??

Inserted a different tweet now!

 

[Scottie Dog]

Great Jerry and thanks for the heads up.

For those interested this is G-VLIP and the aircraft has been a fairly regular visitor to Manchester during September, mainly on the Orlando run.

 

[Rob c DSA]

Something different

 

[BlueManc]

Possible Virgin expansion

Assume they are talking about Long Haul. TCX unfortunate demise has left capacity on:

Antigua (ANU)
Bridgetown (BGI)
Cancun (CUN)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Montego Bay (MBJ)
New York (JFK)
Orlando (MCO)
San Francisco (SFO)
Seattle (SEA)
St Lucia (UVF)
Tobago (TAB)

 

[Jerry]

I wonder if we could see Delta takeover Atlanta to help Virgin expand?

 

[Rob c DSA]

I suspect Virgin would like the TCX A330's in a deal beside the slots at Manchester it would all fit together nicely and give them a real presence at the airport. Could we even see an extension the 747's operational life in Virgin are successful.

 

[Jerry]

Could we even see an extension the 747's operational life in Virgin are successful.

They have extended the A340s so I don't see why they wouldn't extend the 747s if they need to.

 

[EGCC_MAN]

They could even use the A340's short term!

 

[Llandudno]

Virgin have just confirmed Manchester-Bridgetown will go from 2 to 3 weekly this winter, and that Manchester-JFK was due to use the A330-200 this winter but will now stay a B747 all winter.

They also confirm extra flights to Orlando this winter and new routes for Summer 2020 will be announced soon.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Reported on many other forums but regrettably not on here.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/articles/347521/virgin-atlantic-plots-manchester-hub-following-thomas-cook-collapse

Virgin Atlantic plots Manchester hub following Thomas Cook collapse
by Ben Ireland Oct 23rd 2019, 17:36

Virgin Atlantic plans to make Manchester airport a network hub for the airline, with more long-haul routes to be introduced to link to recently-acquired regional capacity.
The airline’s European vice president, commercial Juha Jarvinen, said Manchester is “our second home” and the “Thomas Cook’s demise gives us an opportunity”.
The airline recently announced the new name – Virgin Connect – of regional carrier Flybe, which it led a consortium to acquire earlier this year. Flybe has more than 300 slots at Manchester flying on regional and domestic routes.
On the airline’s flight celebrating its new direct route from Heathrow to Tel Aviv, Jarvinen told Travel Weekly: “We are certainly finalising our Thomas Cook actions and we hope to be able to further strengthen our offering for next year [from Manchester].
“We will be offering more flights to certain destinations for next winter and we are definitely exploring new destinations from Manchester.
“That was originally our plan but Thomas Cook’s demise gives us an opportunity. Manchester is definitely our second home and is a region that is underserved both in business and leisure [routes]. We are hoping to further develop Manchester connectivity and are finalising next summer’s flights.
“By growing Manchester connectivity, we can also grow our long-haul offering there. We believe we can build a network hub in Manchester that nobody has done before. When we welcome Flybe into the Virgin family [as Virgin Connect next year] it becomes easier.”
At the press conference in Tel Aviv, chief executive Shai Weiss said: “There’s more to come. Watch our space in terms of what we will announce following the demise of iconic British brand Thomas Cook.”
The direct Manchester-Los Angles route has seen an 85% load factor, higher than Virgin’s average of around 80%, and Jarvinen said the route had “increased the number of movie producers flying to Manchester”.
Connectivity is the overall message from Virgin, which as well as the Flybe deal has also signed a joint ventures with KLM-Air France and China Eastern, as well as a codeshare agreement with Brazilian carrier Gol to connect to Virgin’s new Heathrow Sao Paulo route starting next spring.
“Up until now, Virgin Atlantic has been serving London and Manchester to the world,” Jarvinen told Travel Weekly. “In order to diversify the offering, we need to have the regional connectivity as well. Customers don’t just want to fly out of London and Manchester. We should be offering European short-haul and domestic as well.”

 

[Scottie Dog]

Separately I have see a rumour that Virgin may be - and this is a big may be - interested in the Thomas Cook Hanger.

Whether there is any truth in this rumour I do not know, and I can't remember which forum I say the item on.

 

[Jerry]

Separately I have see a rumour that Virgin may be - and this is a big may be - interested in the Thomas Cook Hanger.

Makes sense if they will enlarge their offering at Manchester, no doubt with more A330s and the engineering expertise for those aircraft will be in the area.

 

[Scottie Dog]

Virgin Atlantic increase New York JFK from three per week W18 to daily W19. Barbados increases from two to three per
week.