Virgin Profits Up, New Routes Announced

[Pete]

http://www.v-flyer.com/pages.asp?pageid=103

Overall seems to be a reason to congratulate Virgin, especially in light of the tough issue of oil prices in the last year.

Pete

Yes, well done Virgin!!

And adding Dubai is great news as that is where I am off to on holiday next year and decision on who I will fly with now much easier, VS of course!!

Great news that Dubai is being added - will be interesting to see how fares compare with BA and Emirates.

[HighFlyer]

Oh excellent!! I have long been waiting for Dubai!!

I called the other half just now to tell him the news. As soon as the route is up im going to be getting tickets! Thinking of combining a stay at the Burj Al Arab with a week in the Maldives! We were planning it with Emirates originally but now i go on VS metal!!

Anybody know any more about plans to start services to Beijing? They announced that ages ago but i havent heard any more about it? I did email VS a moth ago and they said that they had no new developments? [:(]

Excellent, now does anyone know if I will need a new passport to go there as I have loads of Israel stamps in my passport...

The most important part to that press release:

For the third year running our staff will receive an annual profit-related bonus.

[Pete]

G-VOPS - Agreed. It's certainly the staff that make the airline.

Originally posted by G-VOPS
The most important part to that press release:

For the third year running our staff will receive an annual profit-related bonus.

Will the US staff get this as part of their redundancy payment [B)]. OK Cheap shot but here's hoping they are included.

Phil (Buffy)

Yay for profits, now give me some of that money!!! (Joking, but if you are interested...).
Dubai sounds like a great plan, any ideas on whether its going to be a LHR or LGW route, im guessing Jamacia will be LGW, but could be LHR to rival air jamacia.
One other question, with the A340's going bye bye, and only 2 new planes comming in, where will the fleet for these new routes come from?

interesting to see how VS fare on the DXB route- it is their first new route for quite sometime that has a lot of competition on it both direct and via major euro/middle eastern hubs- BA,EK,Ethihad, GF,LH,AF,KL etc etc. With regards to competition its like launching a service to NYC, LAX,HKG etc.

Im sure it will be great! Also greta to see Carribean expansion! But alas nothing from MAN?

Also what happened to Beijing?

Originally posted by kkempton
Yay for profits, now give me some of that money!!! (Joking, but if you are interested...).
Dubai sounds like a great plan, any ideas on whether its going to be a LHR or LGW route, im guessing Jamacia will be LGW, but could be LHR to rival air jamacia.
One other question, with the A340's going bye bye, and only 2 new planes comming in, where will the fleet for these new routes come from?

Hi,

DXB will be from LHR ( A340-600)

Jamaica from LGW ( 747-400)

Regards

TBS

That will be different seeing more A340-600s at LGW!
I would love to travel on pne, but never had the chance. Damn, cant they try one out on the LGW-MCO route.

Hi,

Ooops !! Sorry.

I re-read the press realse and the Jamaic flights will be on the 747-400 from LGW.

I have edited the post.

Sorry for getting your hopes up.

Regards

TBS

No problems. But where woudl these 747's be comming from, surely they must be running out of them!

[HighFlyer]

Dont forget LGW is getting another 744, and i dare say another will follow (the three Odyssey aircraft at LHR going to LGW and MAN)

Although, long term, i see nearly all the 744s going to LGW and LHR becoming primarily 346 based. Shame if it does ... i love the 744!!

LHR- WIll be all airbus with 346 and 380 remember!

LGW- All 744!

[HighFlyer]

Ah yes, the A380!! Still, im not looking forward to LHR loosing all those 744s to Gatwick! Although there are 8 at LHR arent there? (3 Odyssey which will likely all go to LGW/MAN) so im sure there needs to be serious route expansion to warrant moving the remaining 5 to LGW (considering recently only 5 aircraft operated all the LGW flight anyway)

To sort of get back OT ... in a not too ancient copy of I-Fly, they state:

"Next year weÕre adding Cuba and The Bahamas to our ever growing list of destinations. And, hopefully, in the future thereÕll be Melbourne, Dubai, Bangkok, Mumbai, Chicago, Toronto, Jamaica, Nairobi and Rio."

We already have Mumbai now, with Dubai and Jamaica just announced. Thats pretty good going really, so fingers crossed we will see nearly all of these routes announced in the near future.

Personally i am waiting for the day that Rio is announced!! That will be awesome!!

[preiffer]

Toronto's getting my vote...

The second that route's live, Air Canada will lose their (probably) only real fare-paying "Executive First" passenger, amongst their cabin of 20+ upgrades .

Toronto, Toronto, Toronto [y][y][y]

[Bazz]

Originally posted by kkempton
No problems. But where woudl these 747's be comming from, surely they must be running out of them!

The LHR-LAX VS007-008 route will loose it's 747-400 from 29th October when it is replaced by the 340-600 so that will free up one of 'em [:(]