Virgin Atlantic

Delta buys 49% of Virgin & Forms A Joint Venture … Sounds Familiar

Yesterday, on the 11th of December, Delta Air Lines officially announced that it was purchasing a 49% stake in British flag carrier Virgin Atlantic, from Singapore Airlines, for US$360,000,000 and forming a trans-Atlantic joint venture.  Under the terms of the deal Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin, will retain his 51% majority stake in…

This Month Three Years Ago The World Lost Four Airlines

It was a rough year for airlines in 2008, fuel prices were climbing at impossible rates, passenger numbers were dropping, the introduction of ancillary fees were being introduced and airlines of all sizes were feeling the impact around the world. As April 2008 began the writing was on the wall for some airlines that managed…

Delta Air Lines & Virgin Atlantic Merger? It Can’t Happen

Today various news organizations have reported that Delta Air Lines is considering merging with Virgin Atlantic … however these news stories, ranging from Bloomberg News to Fox News, are leaving out a vital piece of information … the two airlines cannot legally merger. The global airline industry is heavily regulated; among these strict regulations are…

British Airways’ New First Class … a whole new experience

Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of flying first class on long haul flights with a number of world-class airlines, including Lufthansa, Asiana, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Swiss International Air Lines, Korean Air, United Airlines and Gulf Air … but this afternoon at London’s Heathrow Airport as I walked towards security…

Alitala Tops Among European Airlines For On-Time Performance

Alitalia, Italy’s National Flag Carrier, has been called many things over the years, but ‘On Time‘ has never been one of those things. Alitala is well known for labour disputes, strikes, customer dissatisfaction and an on-time performance record that generally rivals my attempts to wake my kids up most mornings … so imagine my surprise…