Virgin Atlantic ritorna sul corto raggio!


goafan ha detto:
Sull stampa francese si parla di un forte interesse da parte del vettore per operare sulla rotta Londra-Nizza, utilizzando gli slot ex-Bmi.
Al momento non c'è nulla di ufficiale ma una decisione dovrebbe essere presa entro ottobre.

CIAO
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I vecchi slot ex BMI sono 14, di cui più della metà da assegnare a rotte domestiche, con apposita gara. Dubito che VS riesca a trovarne a sufficienza per aprire altre rotte a corto raggio. Anzi, potrebbe/dovrebbe aprirne una a lungo raggio, almeno per usare un po' meglio i suoi aerei.
 
VIRGIN ATLANTIC CONFIRMS PLANS TO FLY 700,000 BETWEEN LONDON AND SCOTLAND

Virgin Atlantic has announced the second stage in its plans to start short-haul services, by confirming it has bid to fly multiple daily flights between London Heathrow and Scotland.

Sir Richard Branson’s airline is developing a network operation to start in March 2013 and today confirmed that its next regional focus is on Edinburgh and Aberdeen. It aims to uplift passenger numbers by restoring competition that was lost on routes between these airports and London Heathrow following IAG’s takeover of bmi.
Now that BA is the monopoly operator on these routes, it is reducing the total number of daily flights between Aberdeen and Heathrow by nearly one third, and by a quarter between Edinburgh and Heathrow. With history showing that fares could be expected to increase by as much as a third after an operator becomes the sole carrier on a route, Virgin Atlantic aims to reinstate consumer choice by flying up to 700,000 passengers a year from Scotland to London.

The announcement comes as Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Executive Steve Ridgway visits Edinburgh to meet with First Minister Alex Salmond and other political party leaders to outline the airline’s plans for extending its Scottish operation. Virgin Atlantic already operates seasonally between Glasgow and Orlando.
Speaking ahead of those meetings, Steve Ridgway said:
“Virgin Atlantic is totally committed to providing a competitive price and choice for passengers flying from Scotland to Heathrow and beyond.
“At least 1.8 million Scottish passengers, equivalent to a third of the population, have been left without a choice on these routes since IAG’s takeover of bmi. As a monopoly operator, BA has the opportunity, the incentive and the means to increase fares and reduce the number of flights available.
“As we shook up the status-quo in long haul travel nearly 30 years ago, we’re now doing all we can to have the same decisive impact on the short haul market. Our aim is to reach a significant new base of both direct and connecting passengers, and in doing so we intend to bring our award-winning service, competitive prices and greater choice to the Scottish travelling public.”

Virgin Atlantic confirmed it has submitted an application to operate the twelve daily slot-pairs at Heathrow which IAG must surrender following its takeover of bmi earlier this year which left BA as the only operator on these routes. Within its plans Virgin has proposed to offer multiple flights a day to both Edinburgh and Aberdeen using Airbus narrow bodied aircraft.  

Flights to and from Scotland would allow Virgin Atlantic to re-inject competition for passengers, with a strong brand offer for both long haul and short haul passengers, 750,000 of whom connect onwards at Heathrow each year. Popular onward destinations for Scottish passengers include New York, Vancouver, Sydney and Mumbai.
The move by Virgin Atlantic is the latest step as the airline looks to develop its global connectivity. This year has seen new services launched to Vancouver and Cancun, and last month it announced a new three times daily service to Manchester, which joins a new route to Mumbai and a sixth daily flight to New York; both starting in October this year.
A decision on Virgin Atlantic’s bid for the remedy routes is expected from the European Commission by the end of the year.

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/footer/media-centre/press-releases/scotland.html

 
Ecco spiegata la necessità di 3 macchine per un 3xD.
In ogni caso su altri forum si discuteva della possibilità di un wet leasing "in casa", ovvero con la presa in carico dei 319 da Virgin America.
 
Aggiungo un articolo di Flight Global:

Virgin Atlantic unveils second wave of domestic flights
By: Martin Rivers

Virgin Atlantic Airways has fleshed out further details of its upcoming entry into the UK domestic market, confirming plans to operate "multiple daily flights" from London Heathrow airport to two Scottish cities.

The airline had previously announced that flights from Manchester to Heathrow will begin on 31 March 2013, becoming its first domestic feeder service.

In the "second stage" of its domestic expansion, Virgin will add new Heathrow services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen. International Airlines Group (IAG), the parent company of rival British Airways, currently has a monopoly on both routes following its acquisition of BMI.

"At least 1.8 million Scottish passengers, equivalent to a third of the population, have been left without a choice on these routes since IAG's takeover of BMI," says outgoing Virgin chief executive Steve Ridgway, who will leave the company next spring.

"As a monopoly operator, BA has the opportunity, the incentive and the means to increase fares and reduce the number of flights available."

BA is reducing Heathrow-Aberdeen flights by almost one-third and Heathrow-Edinburgh flights by one-quarter when compared with the number of combined services previously operated by the flag carrier and its one-time rival BMI, Virgin claims.

Ridgway had earlier acknowledged that Scottish routes will likely form the backbone of its upcoming domestic operations - to be served by leased Airbus A319s.
IAG has been forced to relinquish 14 slot pairs at Heathrow in order to trim its market share at the hub following the BMI acquisition. Competition RX, the company monitoring the slot auction, says at least seven of those slots must be used for Edinburgh or Aberdeen flights.

Virgin is bidding for 12 of the slots, with the remaining two earmarked for Transaero's Moscow route. Tickets for Manchester went on sale last month and Virgin says the route will be operated irrespective of how many slots it ultimately secures.

However, no such assurance has been given for flights to Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Moscow - also tentatively announced by Virgin - and with tickets yet to go on sale it appears that all three routes are predicated on its success in the slot auction.

Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus is also believed to be involved in the auction process. The successful bidders are due to be announced in December.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/ar...veils-second-wave-of-domestic-flights-376472/
 
Io rinominerei in:

VIRGIN DOMESTIC

i 319 utilizzati per i voli domestici UK, nome molto piu' adatto che Virgin Atlantic :D eheh!
 
Comunicato ufficiale Virgin Atlantic

VIRGIN ATLANTIC SHORT HAUL PLANS REVEALED

Virgin Atlantic today outlined plans to launch a domestic flying program within the United Kingdom from the Spring of 2013. The airline will be adding 24 domestic flights a day to its existing long-haul network. This investment in short-haul routes will create more than 150 new jobs, and see excellent onward connections for travelers flying from the US to Scotland.
Sir Richard Branson’s airline has confirmed it will take up nine of the 12 daily pairs of Heathrow slots which British Airways was forced to give up to ensure consumers have an alternative on key routes previously flown by bmi.
Virgin Atlantic will focus its operations on flights to and from Scotland; from April 2013, the airline will operate six round-trip flights a day between Heathrow and Edinburgh, and three daily round-trip flights between Heathrow and Aberdeen.
The airline will also use three of its existing Heathrow slots to complement the new Scottish routes with three daily round-trip services between Heathrow and Manchester from March 31, 2013.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Executive, Steve Ridgway commented:

“Throughout our history, Virgin Atlantic has successfully fought British Airways all over the world and has offered passengers a compelling alternative through our renowned product and service.
“We will look to replicate that in our short-haul program and challenge the current BA monopoly on these routes, which is causing serious consumer harm.
“Virgin Atlantic will offer millions of passengers in Scotland and Manchester connections around the world through our and our partners’ long-haul network, with the additional benefit of providing direct services to and from London Heathrow. This is a robust business model that will protect competition to and from Heathrow for the long-term.”
The schedule of new flights is timed to maximize connections for passengers traveling onwards from London across Virgin Atlantic’s global network. The timings will also give the most attractive offering to passengers traveling direct between London and the UK regions, with flights spread at key points throughout the day (including morning arrivals into Heathrow to give business travelers a full day in the capital, and an early morning departure from London to Edinburgh for business visits to the Scottish capital).
The new chapter in Virgin Atlantic’s history will see the airline increase capacity on the routes previously operated by bmi, flying almost one million passengers per year domestically on four Airbus 320 aircraft. Through this direct competition to BA – which currently has a monopoly on all three routes – consumers will benefit from added choice and Virgin Atlantic’s strong track record of driving down fares on routes on which it competes with BA.
The airline will provide a bespoke Virgin Atlantic product and service on all of its short-haul flights and has signed a letter of intent with Aer Lingus as a wet lease partner to supply the crew and Airbus narrow body aircraft required, which will be fully Virgin branded. Virgin’s decision was taken after hard-fought competition from two carriers with two excellent business cases being presented to the airline.
Virgin Atlantic and Aer Lingus currently operate an interline agreement and will explore opportunities for further commercial cooperation in the future.


Stephen Kavanagh, Aer Lingus Chief Commercial Officer said:


“We are very pleased to have reached agreement in principle with Virgin Atlantic to provide the aircraft, maintenance and crew with which they will serve their new domestic operations and look forward to now progressing to contract.”
Virgin Atlantic’s short-haul operation will directly create around 130 flying jobs and 25 new head office jobs to launch, and will indirectly protect roles in suppliers and other stakeholders including ground handling agents and airport teams.
Virgin Atlantic’s domestic operation will begin with its summer schedule from March 31, 2013, and will operate from London Heathrow Terminal 1. Tickets for the Scottish routes will go on sale from Wednesday, December 19, 2012, with round-trip fares starting from £99 ($159).

http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/en/footer/media-centre/press-releases/shorthualplans.html
 
Si chiameranno "Little Red" le operazioni VS sul domestico UK: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/gb/e...UK Marin Search-_-paid-_-Google-_-'little red'

Ecco l'operativo con i voli che partono dal 31 Marzo:
http://airlineroute.net/2013/03/01/vs-domestic-s13/

London Heathrow – Aberdeen eff 09APR13 3 daily service (Planned operation is unchanged)
VS3021 LHR0930 – 1110ABZ 320 D ^
VS3023 LHR1530 – 1700ABZ 320 D
VS3025 LHR2015 – 2155ABZ 320 D
VS3026 ABZ0635 – 0815LHR 320 D
VS3022 ABZ1155 – 1335LHR 320 D
VS3024 ABZ1735 – 1915LHR 320 D ^

London Heathrow – Edinburgh eff 05APR13 Service begins with 3 daily flights, and increases to 6 daily from 15APR13 (Previously to start 05APR13 with 6 daily flights)
VS3001 LHR0645 – 0815EDI 320 D*
VS3003 LHR0910 – 1040EDI 320 D ^
VS3005 LHR1120 – 1240EDI 320 D*
VS3007 LHR1515 – 1645EDI 320 D
VS3009 LHR1625 – 1755EDI 320 D*
VS3011 LHR1950 – 2120EDI 320 D
VS3012 EDI0640 – 0810LHR 320 D
VS3002 EDI0905 – 1035LHR 320 D*
VS3004 EDI1120 – 1250LHR 320 D
VS3006 EDI1335 – 1505LHR 320 D*
VS3008 EDI1735 – 1905LHR 320 D ^
VS3010 EDI1845 – 2015LHR 320 D*
* effective 15APR13

London Heathrow – Manchester eff 31MAR13 Service increases from planned 3 to 4 daily
VS3041 LHR0930 – 1030MAN 320 D ^
VS3047 LHR1300 – 1400MAN 320 D
VS3043 LHR1715 – 1815MAN 320 D
VS3045 LHR2045 – 2145MAN 320 D
VS3046 MAN0650 – 0800LHR 320 D
VS3042 MAN1110 – 1220LHR 320 D
VS3048 MAN1445 – 1555LHR 320 D
VS3044 MAN1855 – 2000LHR 320 D
^ This flight carries SA code

Virgin’s Little Red Domestic UK service is operated by AerLingus A320 aircraft, in Virgin’s livery.
 
Delta continues with plans for Virgin Atlantic stake despite grim forecast


Delta is to press ahead with its purchase of a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic despite the UK carrier reportedly heading for record losses of around £135 million.

Delta is paying $360 million for the stake, which it is buying from Singapore Airlines to bolster its position at Heathrow on transatlantic routes.

“It’s certainly something we are keen to go forward with, it’s an absolute must, particularly for the UK market as there are no true competitors to BA and American Airlines,” said a Delta spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said Virgin’s financial situation would not detract from the deal. Virgin’s loss is comparatively small when placed against a company the size of Delta, which last year made a $1.6 billion profit. The US carrier sees the long-term benefits of the deal as it cannot compete against BA and AA on its own. Even with the joint venture, Virgin and Delta will have about a 34% share of seats from Heathrow to New York, but BA and AA will have 62%. BA and AA also have 59% of the Heathrow-US market compared with Delta and Virgin’s 24%.

The two carriers will initially codeshare and have reciprocal lounge access and frequent flier schemes. Only following further regulatory approval will a full joint venture involving revenue sharing and marketing, similar to that of BA and AA, begin.

“There are reasons why airlines form these relationships,” said the spokeswoman, who put the benefits of the Air France/KLM/Alitalia joint transatlantic venture at $11 billion.

Virgin lost £80 million last year but a spokeswoman would not confirm the £135 million loss estimate the Sunday Times published. It will reveal annual results in the summer.

In a statement, it confirmed a pay freeze and said fuel prices were putting pressure on its bottom line. It added:

“Virgin Atlantic is committed to a plan of measured changes – both in the short and long term – which addresses these challenges head-on. The joint venture announced with Delta and the new domestic Little Red services are positive steps towards a growth in revenue, which will also increase the current offering available to customers.”
 
Grazie! Carino dai!
Curioso di vederlo all'interno!
Avrá gli interni AerLingus oppure qualcosa di particolare scelto da Virgin Atlantic?
 
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