Amazing Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited
The airline along with Virgin Holidays is controlled by a holding company, Virgin Atlantic Limited, which is 51% owned by the Virgin Group and 49% by Delta Air Lines. It is administratively separate from other Virgin-branded airlines. Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited both hold Civil Aviation Authority.
In 1991, Virgin Atlantic was given permission to operate from Heathrow following the abolition of the London Air Traffic Distribution Rules (TDRs), which had governed the distribution of traffic between Heathrow and Gatwick airports since 1978, primarily to bolster the profitability of Gatwick. Airlines without an international scheduled service from Heathrow prior to 1 April 1977 were obliged to operate from Gatwick. However, airlines that did not already operate at Heathrow were still able to begin domestic scheduled services there provided BAA, which then ran both Heathrow and Gatwick on behalf of the UK government, and the Secretary of State for Transport
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Commenced operations | 22 June 1984; 39 years ago | ||||||
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AOC # | 534 (VAA Ltd) 2435 (VAI Ltd) |
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Hubs | |||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Flying Club | ||||||
Alliance | SkyTeam | ||||||
Fleet size | 41 | ||||||
Destinations | 32 | ||||||
Parent company | Virgin Atlantic Limited (owned 51% by Virgin Group, 49% by Delta Air Lines) | ||||||
Headquarters | Crawley, West Sussex, England | ||||||
Key people | |||||||
Founder | Richard Branson | ||||||
Revenue |
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Operating income |
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Net income |
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Total assets |
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Employees | ~7900 (2022) | ||||||
Website | www |
Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
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Airbus A320-200 | 2 | 1995 | 2000 | 1 leased for a London to Athens service; replaced by an A321-200 in 2000. |
4 | 2013 | 2015 | Leased from Aer Lingus for Little Red services. | |
Airbus A321-200 | 1 | 2000 | 2001 | Named Hellenic Beauty leased for a London to Athens service to replace an A320-200. |
Airbus A330-200 | 4 | 2018 | 2022 | All four were refurbished former Air Berlin aircraft. Withdrawn from service early due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, exited the fleet in 2022. |
Airbus A340-300 | 10 | 1993 | 2015 | Last commercial flight in April 2015. |
Airbus A340-600 | 20 | 2002 | 2020 | Launch customer. Includes G-VATL, the third prototype. G-VNAP in 'Thank You' livery. Early retirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last commercial flight 8 March 2020. |
Boeing 747-100 | 1 | 1990 | 2000 | Originally Miami Maiden, then renamed Spirit of Sir Freddie. |
Boeing 747-200B | 14 | 1984 | 2005 | G-VIRG was Virgin Atlantic's first aircraft. |
Boeing 747-400 | 13 | 1994 | 2020 | Early retirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last commercial flight 31 March 2020. |
Boeing 767-300ER | 1 | 1996 | 1997 | Wet leased from Martinair. |
Current Aircraft Inventory Virgin Atlantic Airline
As of July 2023, Virgin Atlantic operates the following aircraft:
Aircraft | Inservice | Orders | Passengers | |||||
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J | W | Y | Total | Refs | ||||
Airbus A330-300 | 10 | — | 31 | 48 | 185 | 264 | To be retired and replaced by Airbus A330-900 | |
Airbus A330-900 | 4 | 12 | 32 | 46 | 184 | 262 | Originally ordered 14 with 6 options, 2 options were firm ordered by July 2022.[Deliveries began in October 2022 to replace Airbus A330-300. | |
Airbus A350-1000 | 10 | 4 | 44 | 56 | 235 | 335 | Originally ordered 12 in July 2016. 2 more ordered in December 2021, with deliveries in 2023 and 2024. |
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16 | 56 | 325 | 397 | |||||
Boeing 787-9 | 17 | — | 31 | 35 | 198 | 264 | ||
Total | 41 | 16 |
Airbus A330-300
Airbus A330-900
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Airbus A350-1000
Boeing 787-9
Fleet: Virgin Atlantic Fleet
Fleet: Virgin Atlantic fleet
Virgin Atlantic operates a fleet consisting entirely of widebody aircraft from both Airbus and Boeing.
Airbus A330-300
The A330-300 is an Airbus wide-body airliner. The oldest model in the fleet, the first was delivered in April 2011, and currently Virgin Atlantic operates 10 as of 2023.
Airbus A330neoThe A330neo is a newer, more efficient version of the original A330. The latest purchase by Virgin, the first was delivered in October 2022, and operate 4 as of 2023.
Airbus A350-1000
The A350-1000 is a wide-body airliner manufactured by Airbus. Virgin Atlantic first took delivery of one in August 2019, and they operate 10 of these aircraft as of 2023.
Boeing 787-9 DreamlinerThe 787-9 Dreamliner is also a wide-body airliner made by Boeing. The only Boeing aircraft in the fleet, Virgin's first one arrived in October 2014, and they operate 17 of these aircraft as of 2023.
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Atlas Air, Inc. is a major American cargo airline, passenger charter airline, and aircraft lessor based in Purchase, New York.
In February 2016, Boeing launched a passenger-to-freighter conversion program, designated as Boeing 737-800BCF
The 747-400F (Freighter) is an all freight version of the 747-400. While using the updated systems and wing design versions,
The 747-400 and earlier versions had proven to be a very popular freighter, carrying the world's
The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body aircraft developed and manufactured by Boeing BCA
The 777 Freighter (777F) is an all-cargo version of the twinjet, and shares features with the -200LR
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