Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic Hub Airports:

London Heathrow (LHR)

London Gatwick (LGW)

Virgin Atlantic destinations

Virgin Atlantic operates long-haul services from Heathrow to New York (Newark and JFK), Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, Boston, Miami, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Shanghai, Delhi and Lagos. Virgin Atlantic also operates services from Gatwick to Orlando, Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua, Las Vegas, Grenada and Tobago and a service from Manchester to Orlando.

London Airports serviced by Virgin Atlantic

London Heathrow (LHR)

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Airport codes: London - all (LON), Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), City (LCY), Stansted (STN)

Virgin Atlantic London Office

Crawley
Sussex ,RH10 9NU

Telephone: 01293 562345

Reservations : 08705 747 747
Upper Class Reservations:  0870 190 9090
Flight Information:  0871 984 0840
Flying Club Frequent Flyer Programme : 0870 161 6059
Special assistance : 0870 380 2004
Special assistance (Minicom):  01293 747691
Recruitment : 0870 190 4401
Cargo Marketing : 01293 744580
Cargo Reservations : 0208 890 0090
Pet Travel : 08450 701 701
Business Sales Enquiries:  0870 190 4410

About Virgin Atlantic

Since it was founded almost twenty years ago, Virgin Atlantic Airways has become Britain’s second largest airline serving the world’s major cities. Hugely popular, Virgin Atlantic has top business, consumer and trade awards from around the world. On 20 December 1999 Richard Branson signed an agreement to sell a 49% stake of Virgin Atlantic to Singapore Airlines to form a unique global partnership. The cost of the transaction to Singapore Airlines was £600.25 million, which included a capital injection of £49 million and values Virgin Atlantic at a minimum of £1.225billion. The deal was finalised in early 2000. On July 16 2003 came the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s revolutionary new Upper Class ‘Suite’, the longest and most comfortable flat bed and seat in the airline industry. The Upper Class Suite has recently won six of the most prestigious designs awards including a Yellow Pencil award for product design and an IDEA Gold Award for Transport Design. On 5 August 2004 the airline announced that it had reached an agreement to take delivery of 13 new A340-600 aircraft with options for a further 13 in a deal worth in excess of $5.5bn.

Virgin Atlantic History

Virgin Atlantic was developed as an offshoot of Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, which was better known at the time as a leading light in the world of pop and rock music. In early 1984, the then young and unorthodox chairman of Virgin was surprised when he was contacted by an Anglo-US lawyer called Randolph Fields with a proposal for an involvement in a new airline called British Atlantic. Fields originally planned to operate a 747 service to New York’s JFK airport in an all business configuration – an idea that was denied to him by British licensing authorities. Recognising that, like the music business, aviation was a consumer led industry, and tired of the conveyor belt attitude to passengers, Branson decided it was time for Virgin to diversify. His fellow directors thought he was mad – particularly when he announced the new airline would begin operating in just over three months. Never one to take ‘no’ for an answer, Branson’s infectious enthusiasm ensured that staff were hired, an aircraft was found, licences were obtained and the uniforms were designed. It was not easy, especially when incidents such as an engine failure on the eve of the airline’s maiden flight meant that Branson started getting premature grey hairs! On 22 June 1984 Virgin’s inaugural flight to Newark took place, a flight filled with friends, celebrities and the media. The airline’s aim was simple: “To provide the highest quality innovative service at excellent value for money for all classes of air travellers”.

Virgin Atlantic website

The official Virgin Atlantic website