JOBS: Cabin Crew Virgin Atlantic to be based in West Sussex

Virgin Atlantic is looking for Cabin Crew in United Kingdom, to be based in Crawley, West Sussex. You will be required to fly from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

Application deadline: August 20, 2016.

Minimum requirements:

• You need to be a minimum of 18 years of age 
• Have an arm reach of 210cm. (This will be checked at interview stage) 
• Be able to brace with your feet flat on the floor whilst sitting in our jump seat which is 45cm off the floor. (This will be checked at interview stage without shoes) 
• Have no live criminal convictions or cases pending, including drink driving convictions 
• You must have a minimum of three GCSE or equivalent level passes 
• Be fluent in both written and spoken English 
• Have the right to live and work in the UK 
• A confident swimmer. You will need to demonstrate that you can swim 25 metres unaided and tread water whilst putting on and manually inflating a life jacket. This will be tested during training 
• Committed to undertaking a rigorous five to six-week training programme. 
• Minimum of one year continuous face to face customer service experience

If you are interested in this job APPLY HERE

Live TV on Virgin's Atlantic Boeing 787s

Customers travelling with Virgin Atlantic this summer will now be able to tune in to live television onboard its 787s, thanks to a partnership with Panasonic Avionics and IMG.

This new service will be available to customers travelling on the state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner and initially three channels will be available – Sport 24 for all the live sporting action from around the world, and BBC News and CNN International for breaking news around the clock.

Sport 24 will be showing action from the Rio 2016 Olympics Games, Premier League, NFL, UEFA Champions League, NBA, Tennis Grand Slams, Bundesliga, Formula 1, Golf Majors, MotoGP, and the Ryder Cup.

Jill Brady, Executive Vice President of Customer at Virgin Atlantic, said: “We know staying up to date with current affairs and sporting events is really important to our customers and it’s fantastic we can now offer them the opportunity to view content live. We always put our customers at the heart of everything we do and this is just another example of us being able to expand on our promise of making travelling with us irresistible.”

Virgin Atlantic customers will be able to tune in to live TV via their seat-back screen or via their own devices using the onboard Wi-Fi, at no extra cost.

The service is being rolled out to the 787 Dreamliners now, and all thirteen aircraft will be fully equipped by the end of the year.

In 1991 Virgin Atlantic was the first airline to introduce individual seat back screens in all classes and by summer 2017 will offer Wi-Fi connectivity across all its aircraft.

Runway Girl Network

Virgin Atlantic B747 flight VS44 at Las Vegas, wheel well fire indication

Aug 6, 2016

A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400, registration G-VGAL performing flight VS-44 from Las Vegas,NV (USA) to London Gatwick,EN (UK) with 359 people on board, was climbing out of Las Vegas' runway 25R when the crew stopped the climb at 8,000 feet following a wheel well fire indication that persisted even after gear extension prompting the crew to declare PAN and the airport instruct aircraft on approach to go around in order to keep runways 25R sterile for the pending priority arrival. The crew positioned the aircraft for an immediate return to Las Vegas and suspecting a false indication decided to perform a low approach to have the wheel wells inspected from the ground. Following the low approach to runway 25R tower reported they did not see anything, the aircraft climbed to 10,000 feet and entered a hold to dump fuel. The aircraft landed safely back on Las Vegas' runway 25R about 50 minutes after departure.

The occurrence aircraft remained on the ground for two hours, then departed again and reached London with a delay of 2.5 hours.

The Aviation Herald

Virgin Atlantic adds Boeing 787-9 to Boston in Winter 2016/17

Virgin Atlantic in winter 2016/17 season plans to commence Boeing 787-9 operations on London Heathrow – Boston route, effective 30OCT16. The Dreamliner is currently scheduled to operate until 25MAR17, replacing Airbus A330-300/A340-600 aircraft.

VS011 LHR1645 – 1920BOS 789 D
VS012 BOS2140 – 0900+1LHR 789 D

Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic to source up to thirteen A350-1000s

Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) has announced the signing of a firm order agreement with Airbus Industrie (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for the purchase of eight A350-1000s in addition to the longterm lease of four of the same type from Air Lease Corporation. The UK carrier also has a lease "option" for a fifth aircraft.

Deliveries of the Airbus-sourced jets are due to commence in 2019 while of the four ALC aircraft, two are due in spring 2020 with the other two due in spring 2021. All aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines.

The UK carrier will use the A350 order to replace its fleet of B747-400s which currently stands at seven. As such, the A350s will be initially be deployed to London Heathrow where they will strengthen Virgin's business-oriented transatlantic network. Thereafter, they will then be placed at London Gatwick for use on leisure routes to the Caribbean.

During the announcement ceremony at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow, Virgin Atlantic CEO Craig Kreeger noted the airline was still considering its future plans insofar as its order for six A380-800s is concerned. Ordered back in 2001, Virgin was to have taken delivery of them as far back as 2006. However, owing to a change in market dynamics, their arrival has been continuously pushed back with a 2018 delivery date now touted.

ch-aviation.com

Virgin Atlantic Says It Could Move Fleet Out of London if Britain Leaves EU – Skift

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. will suffer a slump in demand if Britain exits the European Union as international businesses desert London for major cities still inside the 28-nation bloc, according to Craig Kreeger, the U.K. carrier’s American chief executive officer.

In the longer term, an extreme dip in sales might even mean evaluating the case for moving some planes elsewhere, Kreeger said in an interview.

Trans-Atlantic flights, which account for 70 percent of Virgin’s total capacity, could see bookings slide as U.S. companies favor locations such as Paris and Frankfurt, which it doesn’t serve, the CEO said.

“Most travel-intensive businesses — consulting, banking, technology — can make a pretty good argument that London right now is the center of Europe,” he said. “If Brexit has a risk that’s easy to understand, it’s the possibility that that center would move east to the larger European open market.”

A victory for the “Leave” campaign in a referendum on June 23 would also prompt a further weakening of the pound, increasing costs for U.K. airlines that pay in dollars for fuel accounting for 40 percent of total expenses, Kreeger said Wednesday in London.

U.S. Off Menu

“The long-term impact is whether the economy weakens in a way that makes it just too hard for more Brits to travel, particularly on long-haul vacations to the United States, which is kind of a big part of our business,” he said.

Virgin Atlantic, owned by billionaire Richard Branson, has yet to establish a definitive contingency plan as a Brexit vote would likely be followed by at least two years of negotiating before the actual schism, Kreeger said.

In that time, the Crawley, England-based carrier, 49 percent owned by Delta Air Lines Inc., with which it operates a profit-sharing agreement on U.S. flights, would gauge changes in demand and potentially develop options for basing jets in other markets.

“Our assets are mobile,” Kreeger said. “If I see demand in a certain market go down, I can take the airplane and fly it somewhere else.”

Virgin Atlantic Says It Could Move Fleet Out of London if Britain Leaves EU – Skift

Virgin Atlantic Opens Seattle Reservation from late-March 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic yesterday (02JUN16) has updated its inventory, reflecting its earlier announcement on planned London Heathrow – Seattle launch. The airline last week opened reservation for this daily 787-9 service from 01MAY17, however this week’s update sees flight from 26MAR17 to 30APR17 also being opened.

Planned schedule from 26MAR17 as follow.

VS105 LHR1100 – 1240SEA 789 D
VS106 SEA2000 – 1300+1LHR 789 D

Virgin Atlantic Opens Seattle Reservation from late-March 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic Adds Manchester - New York Service from May 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic in summer 2017 season plans to introduce new Manchester – New York JFK operation, based on the week of 29MAY16’s OAG Schedules Analyser update. This daily service will replace existing DELTA’s daily flight, effective from 25MAY17. Reservation will open at a later date.

VS127 MAN1045 – 1335JFK 333 D
VS128 JFK1930 – 0715+1MAN 333 D

Virgin Atlantic Adds Manchester - New York Service from May 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic Files Preliminary Seattle Schedule from May 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic in the week of 29MAY16’s OAG Schedules Analyser update has extended its schedule listing until Late-June 2017. Latest update now includes planned operation on London Heathrow – Seattle route, beginning from 01MAY17. Based on schedule listing, the airline intends to operate Boeing 787-9 aircraft on daily basis.

Reservation for this route is currently not available.

VS105 LHR1100 – 1320SEA 789 D
VS106 SEA1910 – 1300+1LHR 789 D

Virgin Atlantic Files Preliminary Seattle Schedule from May 2017 :: Routesonline

Virgin Atlantic to order A35J – Aviation Gazette

    

Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. is set to announce a deal for 12 Airbus Group SE A350-1000 jets with a list price of $4.3 billion as Richard Branson’s flagship carrier renews its wide-body leisure fleet, according to people with knowledge of the plan.
U.K.-based Virgin will probably buy nine of the twin-engine planes directly from Airbus and take three from leasing firms, said the people, who asked not to be named because negotiations are private.
Virgin Atlantic has said it’s evaluating both the A350 and Boeing Co.’s 777 to replace the four-engine Boeing 747s jumbos that form the heart of its long-haul leisure operations at London Gatwick airport with more fuel-efficient jets. The company said Tuesday that the process remains ongoing and that it will make an announcement once a decision is taken. Airbus declined to comment.
The carrier returned to profit in 2014, bolstered by a partnership with 49 percent shareholder Delta Air Lines Inc. that’s seen it refocus on trans-Atlantic routes after years of global expansion. The U.S. operator in November ordered 25 A350-900s worth $7.4 billion to replace some of its own 747s.
Virgin Atlantic wants to take new jets from late 2018 or early 2019, Erik Varwijk, its executive vice president, commercial, said in November. While Airbus began A350 deliveries in 2014, the -1000 model isn’t due until 2017. Varwijk said the 777 was also in the running, most likely the current version, since an upgraded 777X model won’t be available until 2020.
Virgin is eliminating other four-engine planes to trim costs, ceasing operations with Airbus’s A340-300 last year and working on an exit plan for the A340-600. The last 747s based at its London Heathrow hub will exit the fleet this month.
The carrier has outstanding orders for Boeing’s 787-9 Dreamliner, with eight delivered, and remains on Airbus’s customer list for the A380 superjumbo, though it has deferred delivery of six planes ordered until 2018 at the earliest.

Virgin Atlantic to order A35J – Aviation Gazette