By Ben Webster
March 25, 2004
RICHARD Branson is planning to double the size of Virgin Atlantic by 2010 in a direct assault on British Airways.
The entrepreneur has entered into negotiations with Boeing and Airbus to buy 30 new wide-bodied aircraft in a deal worth $2 billion.
He intends to challenge BA's stranglehold on the lucrative London to Sydney route, offering faster flights via Hong Kong by the end of this year.
However, the airline has yet to obtain regulatory clearance for services to Sydney.
Virgin Atlantic also plans to recruit 1400 extra staff, including a number of seasonal employees, and will launch new routes in July to Havana in Cuba and Nassau in the Bahamas.
The airline will compete with BA on the Nassau route. Virgin is also considering adding one or two of five possible new destinations in China to its service.
Sir Richard plans to increase frequency to key US destinations, on which BA relies for most of its profits, including New York, Washington and Boston.
Virgin laid off 20 per cent of its staff and retired a similar proportion of its aircraft in the downturn following the hijackings of September 11, 2001. But Sir Richard said that passenger numbers were now almost back to the four million that Virgin achieved in its peak year of 2000-01.
He said pre-tax profits for this financial year would be "slightly north" of the 15.7 million achieved last year.
Sir Richard said he planned to expand the airline by at least 10 per cent a year, with growth accelerating towards the end of the decade.
Virgin Atlantic currently has 28 aircraft, with another 12 on order. It announced yesterday that it was leasing two extra Airbus A340-600s to handle immediate expansion.
Sir Richard said the airline "would grow much more quickly if we conclude a deal with BMI".
Merger talks between Virgin and BMI British Midland stalled last year, but Sir Richard said: "There remains a clear logic in combining the two businesses. There are one or two shareholder issues which need to be sorted out."
Sir Richard is also planning to launch a budget airline in the US early next year, possibly in partnership with US Airways.
"We shouldn't have any problems in now getting the airline launched" by early next year at the latest, Sir Richard said.
The Virgin Group will invest between $US50 million ($66 million) and $US250 million in the carrier and will own 49 per cent.
"US Airways may sell off part of their assets, and they may sell it off in part cash and shares in a new company," Sir Richard said. "If they were to do that, they might decide to do something with Virgin USA."
Virgin USA will try to replicate Sir Richard's Australian success with Virgin Blue in the world's largest air travel market.
Virgin USA is choosing between San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington for its headquarters.
March 25, 2004
RICHARD Branson is planning to double the size of Virgin Atlantic by 2010 in a direct assault on British Airways.
The entrepreneur has entered into negotiations with Boeing and Airbus to buy 30 new wide-bodied aircraft in a deal worth $2 billion.
He intends to challenge BA's stranglehold on the lucrative London to Sydney route, offering faster flights via Hong Kong by the end of this year.
However, the airline has yet to obtain regulatory clearance for services to Sydney.
Virgin Atlantic also plans to recruit 1400 extra staff, including a number of seasonal employees, and will launch new routes in July to Havana in Cuba and Nassau in the Bahamas.
The airline will compete with BA on the Nassau route. Virgin is also considering adding one or two of five possible new destinations in China to its service.
Sir Richard plans to increase frequency to key US destinations, on which BA relies for most of its profits, including New York, Washington and Boston.
Virgin laid off 20 per cent of its staff and retired a similar proportion of its aircraft in the downturn following the hijackings of September 11, 2001. But Sir Richard said that passenger numbers were now almost back to the four million that Virgin achieved in its peak year of 2000-01.
He said pre-tax profits for this financial year would be "slightly north" of the 15.7 million achieved last year.
Sir Richard said he planned to expand the airline by at least 10 per cent a year, with growth accelerating towards the end of the decade.
Virgin Atlantic currently has 28 aircraft, with another 12 on order. It announced yesterday that it was leasing two extra Airbus A340-600s to handle immediate expansion.
Sir Richard said the airline "would grow much more quickly if we conclude a deal with BMI".
Merger talks between Virgin and BMI British Midland stalled last year, but Sir Richard said: "There remains a clear logic in combining the two businesses. There are one or two shareholder issues which need to be sorted out."
Sir Richard is also planning to launch a budget airline in the US early next year, possibly in partnership with US Airways.
"We shouldn't have any problems in now getting the airline launched" by early next year at the latest, Sir Richard said.
The Virgin Group will invest between $US50 million ($66 million) and $US250 million in the carrier and will own 49 per cent.
"US Airways may sell off part of their assets, and they may sell it off in part cash and shares in a new company," Sir Richard said. "If they were to do that, they might decide to do something with Virgin USA."
Virgin USA will try to replicate Sir Richard's Australian success with Virgin Blue in the world's largest air travel market.
Virgin USA is choosing between San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston and Washington for its headquarters.
