Virgin Atlantic 787 -900 Dreamliner approaching London Heathrow airport.
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International 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 Sir Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from Gatwick Airport 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 Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited both hold Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A Operating Licences (AOC numbers 534[6] and 2435 respectively), both of which permit these airlines, operating as Virgin Atlantic Airways, to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
Size: 4231px × 2810px
Location: London Heathrow Airport.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., 1, 10, 11, 11in., 18, 36, 37, 55, 206, , 787-9, 787-900, a330-200, a330-200s, a330-300s, a350-1000s., airbus, aircraft, boeing, cabin, capacity, cargo, fleet, ft, height, ld3, length, lengthened, span, strengthened, variant, virgin, width, wing
