History Of An Airline Feature Virgin Atlantic

Welcome to another feature from Compare Airport Parking, this time looking at the history of Virgin Atlantic.

The history of Virgin Atlantic can be traced back to 1982 when a man named Randolph Fields, an American lawyer set up Laker Airways along with a pilot named Alan Hellary. The idea was born from Fields concept of setting up an airline operating from the Falkland Islands to London after January 1982. This is when the conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina had ended. According to Fields, Hellary had also come up with the concept of setting up an airline operating from the Falkland Islands to London at the same time as him.

The idea never got off the ground however, as it was discovered that the runway at Port Stanley in the Falklands Islands was too short to cater for the type of aircraft that would need to be used. The men then concentrated their ideas towards obtaining a licence to operate an airline from London Gatwick to JFK Airport. Unfortunately the idea was rejected after a three-day hearing, due to objections raised by BAA and the airline British Caledonian.

The two failiures did not deter the men however, and they then moved on to trying to secure a licence to operate from London Gatwick to the Newark Liberty International Airport located near New York City. This idea also had to be put on hold due to a low cost airline named People Express that was running a similar service at Newark. Just as things were looking bleak and the men were running out of ideas Fields stumbled across a man who was to transform his plans.

At a party in Central London Fields men Richard Branson who he asked to help him get his airline idea off the ground. He offered a partnership with the British born businessman and dropped his share to 25% upon which the airline was renamed Virgin Atlantic. Fields was placed in the position of chairman by Branson. The partnership with Branson did not go well with Fields disagreeing on many issues of operating procedure. As a result an offer to be bought out of his 25% share for £1 million was accepted by him. The money was issued through the High Court, however was not very timely as not long after payment was received Fields died from cancer in 1997. However, even today, his immediate family still have Upper Class flying privileges.

It was in 1984 that Virgin Atlantic first started operating in the guise that we are all familiar with. The first scheduled flight by the airline was between Gatwick Airport and Newark Liberty with a Boeing 747-200 that had been leased, it had been previously been operated by Aerolineas Argentinas. Fortunately the airline made a profit in its first year, due mainly to Branson's Virgin Records business being able to make up any defecit and fund the lease of another Boeing 747 aircraft. The timing of the flights was also key as they began at the start of the 'summer rush' ensuring profit could be maximised.

Boeing 747

The next milestone for the airline was in 1986 when another aircraft was obtained, again a Boeing 747, and a second scheduled service began from Gatwick Airport to Miami Airport. After this the routes grew rapidly as flights from Gatwick to Tokyo, Los Angeles, Orlando and Boston were added. Branson also operated a prop driven service from Luton to Dublin however it was shut down in 1990 for various operational reasons. Also ended was a flight service with two 727's leased by Eastern Airline that ended operations at the same time as the prop driven service.

In 1991 Branson and Virgin Atlantic were granted permission to operate from Heathrow Airport. The move angered British Airways and the then-chief of British Airways is widely believed to have launched a campaign of 'dirty tricks' against Virgin Atlantic. It was suggested in 1992 by British Airways that Branson only protested against them for publicity. As a result Branson sued the airline upon which they countersued. British Airways were eventually forced to settle out of court, paying Branson £500,000 plus £110,000 to his airline. They also had to pay approximately £3 million in legal fees. Branson split the money he received from British Airways amongst his employees calling it the 'BA Bonus.' The bad feeling with British Airways continued for a while after, as Branson also wrote 'No Way BA/AA' on the rear of all Virgin Atlantic aircraft in the early 1990's over a dispute in which British Airways and American Airlines attempted to complete a merger. Branson also had a small role in the 1991 Only Fools and Horses story - Miami Twice where he could be seen queing at a check-in desk in front of Del Boy and Rodney who were off on holiday on a Virgin Atlantic aircraft.

By 1992 Branson was getting ever-more involved with the running of Virgin Atlantic and as a result sold his Virgin Records chain of shops using the money to invest in Virgin Atlantic. In 1999 Virgin Atlantic sold 49% of its business to Singapore Airlines in a deal worth £600.25 million. Virgin retained 51% of the shares and still remained in overall control. This was the same year that Branson received his knighthood from The Queen.

2001 saw Virgin Atlantic named OAG Airline Of The Year which was followed by them being the launch customer for the new Airbus A340-600. In 2003 they added another award to their collection with an award for the best in-flight entertainment from Skytrax.

Airbus A340                                                                 Boeing 747

Moving into 2006 and Branson was once again involving himself with more television as Virgin Atlantic were one of the products that were 'product placed' within the James Bond film Casino Royale. Two aircraft can be seen in the film as well as some flight crew and Branson himself. In the latter part of 2006 Virgin Atlantic announced that they were to reduce emissions and greenhouse gas by cutting the weight and fuel consumption of their aircraft.

This was followed in February 2007 by a Virgin Atlantic flight flying from Heathrow Airport to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport completing a biofuel demonstration. The four fuel tanks on the aircraft consisted of three full of regular aviation fuel and the fourth with 80% regular aviation fuel and 20% biofuel created from Babassu oil and coconut oil. The flight drew heavy criticism however, as several people were quick to point out that the production of the biofuel could cause more harm than it prevents. Virgin Atlantic have stated however that they expect biofuels of the future to be based upon algea as it is a more sustainable supply than Babassu oil and coconut oil. Branson was also not over-keen on the biofuel as he drank some to prove what it was before the flight took place, and was said to have found it unpleasant! Compare Airport Parking covered the biofuel flight in our news section, the story can be found here.

Virgin Atlantic currently have 35 aircraft and unlike many airlines the average age of them is only just over five years. Every aircraft they own is a long haul aircraft, they current own no short haul jets. Virgin Atlantic also currently operate only two variants the Boeing 747 and the Airbus A340. They have six Airbus A380 'superjumbo' aircraft currently on order and fly to over 30 destinations worldwide.

Images courtesy of kpmarek.

Published by: Jon Vickery