6159 x 4080 px | 52,1 x 34,5 cm | 20,5 x 13,6 inches | 300dpi
Aufnahmedatum:
17. Januar 2016
Ort:
London Heathrow Airport, UK
Weitere Informationen:
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company after disagreements with Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from London Gatwick to Newark Liberty International Airport took place on 22 June 1984. 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 uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft and operates to destinations in North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East and Asia from its main bases at London Heathrow and London Gatwick and its secondary base at Manchester. The airline also operates seasonal flights from Glasgow and Belfast. In 2012, Virgin Atlantic carried 5.4 million passengers, making it the seventh-largest UK airline in terms of passenger volume. In the year to 31 December 2013, it reported a £51 million group pre-tax loss (approximately US$87 million), however, in the year to 31 December 2014 the airline reported a return to pre-tax profit of £14.4 million. Virgin Atlantic uses a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A330-300s are used on selected routes from Gatwick, Glasgow, and Manchester, with the A330 being used on other flights as well. Boeing 747s, Airbus A340s and Airbus A330s are used interchangeably on all routes from Heathrow. In August 2002, Virgin became the first airline to operate the Airbus A340-600 (one of which is illustrated)