Virgin Atlantic Airways

Tag Archives for Virgin Atlantic Airways.

Branson’s flight a drag

In 2010, Virgin Atlantic  Sir Richard Branson made a bet with Air Asia owner Tony Fernandes over who’s Formula 1 Racing team would finish higher in the 2010 season. Whoever’s team won would have to serve as a flight attendant on one of the other airline’s flights. Fernandes won. Branson will fly dressed as a flight attendant on Air Asia’s Perth to Kuala Lumpur flight next Sunday May 12th. He will carry out all of the responsibilities of a flight attendant  on the six-hour flight. Fernandes who worked for Branson at Virgin in the 1980s said: “who would have thought my mentor will…

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Branson Wears Dress

Tickets will be auctioned off for charity for a special Lumpur to London Air Asia flight next May. The focus of the flight will be the sight of Virgin Atlantic owner Richard Branson wearing a female Air Asia flight attendant uniform and serving drinks. The reason for the dress is a 2010 bet between the two over which team would finish higher in a Grand Prix race. AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes Lotus team finished 10th and Virgin 12th. No doubt there will be plenty of photos! Will Branson be wearing his beard too?    

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Virgin America Storm Chaos (Trip Report)

Today, Virgin America a normally good airline gave a disappointing performance. Virgin America (along with JetBlue) occupy top billing for me amongst all of the US carriers. On previous flight, I have given Virgin perfect scores with no exceptions.  This most recent Virgin America flight was very disappointing! Virgin America (VX) launched in August, 2007 from their San Francisco base (now in SFO’s magnificent Terminal 2). They fly to sixteen destinations in the United States and three in Mexico. They began a Toronto, Canada service but it was not financially sustainable. This is an issue for the loss making airline which…

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Adios Air Nigeria

When I was a child, in the late 1960s, I lived in Ibadan, Nigeria. From Ibadan we once flew to the then capital Lagos  on a Nigerian Airways WAAC flight –along with live chickens in the cabin. (Pictured is a the type of Vickers plane they used at Lagos Airport in 1969 -Wikipedia) The carrier was renamed Nigeria Airways in 1971, the year I left Nigeria. Sadly, despite government ownership, the great BOAC legacy and a potentially huge passenger base, Nigeria Airways folded in 2004. The Nigerian government immediately began negotiations for a new carrier and Virgin…

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Trip Report: Virgin Atlantic to London in Premium

I am a bit of a Virgin with  Virgin Atlantic, particularly compared to their sister carriers: Virgin Australia and Virgin America. Since 2011, Virgin Australia has transitioned to a full service airline and integrated their frequent flyer and fare offerrings with their UK and American counterparts. As a Virgin Australia Platinum flier (top tier), I am eligible for benefits with these partners. My experience is that the systems are still a bit creaky, as this trip illustrates. Booking 8 out of 10 I booked through Virgin Australia using their points on Virgin Atlantic. I got great service…

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