Virgin Orders A330

And are they still planning to name one of their new twin jets ‘Humble Pie’ ? 😀

I doubt it.

Humble Pie were signed to A&M, not Virgin. 😎

And are they still planning to name one of their new twin jets ‘Humble Pie’ ? 😀

Ha ha, I’d pay good money to see that.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/06/22/328628/virgin-atlantic-orders-10-a330s.html

My reading of the above is that they’re more to replace the [six] A340-300s and maybe deliver a bit of growth. More likely then the delayed Boeing Nightmareliners could be for further expansion once the markets really turn up again. Surprised its -300s though – I thought that they were a bit stretched on segments like LHR-YVR and LHR-PEK.

With Dicky spouting on today/yesterday about BA and how VS could fill any gap as a UK airline, it would be an absolute disgrace if they didn’t go for Trent engines.

A

I guess first to go are the aircraft with highest cash operating costs or least desirable profit margin, and I think the B747-400 has a good chance of being that aircraft, especially as demand is low.

I think it is interesting that following the 787 order, and now with this, that nobody has made a fuss about Virgin’s long spearheaded campaign of “Four engines 4 Long Haul”. They introduced it when they went for A346’s instead of 777s as a campaign to win people over from BA’S 777’s.

I think the intentions weren’t that bad, but just they bet on the wrong horse. Maybe it is a bit fishy to imply any increase in safety versus a competing carrier, that shouldn’t be part of ad campaigns.

I guess it is the weight variant with 238t MTOW.

Indeed.
That little gimmick was soon dropped and never mentioned again.
Joe Bloggs the passenger hasn’t noticed, however the message is clear to most of us in the aviation fandom.

And are they still planning to name one of their new twin jets ‘Humble Pie’ ? 😀

Indeed.
That little gimmick was soon dropped and never mentioned again.
Joe Bloggs the passenger hasn’t noticed, however the message is clear to most of us in the aviation fandom.

I think it is interesting that following the 787 order, and now with this, that nobody has made a fuss about Virgin’s long spearheaded campaign of “Four engines 4 Long Haul”. They introduced it when they went for A346’s instead of 777s as a campaign to win people over from BA’S 777’s.

I wouldnt be surprised if these replace the deferred A340-600’s VS no longer wanted.

Cant be much of a net “gain” for either party except perhaps for engine makers.

AFAIK the A340-300’s would have struggled getting out of Glasgow on a trip to Florida, so it’s been the 744’s sharing the route via MAN the past couple of seasons. Virgin Holidays have been a popular brand around these here parts and the A330-200 has been a success out of GLA for many years for various operators. I’m slightly surprised at the choice of the 300 series too, interesting times…

I can’t help wonder if we’re going to see more of a regional operation from Virgin with these.

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/06/22/328628/virgin-atlantic-orders-10-a330s.html

My reading of the above is that they’re more to replace the [six] A340-300s and maybe deliver a bit of growth. More likely then the delayed Boeing Nightmareliners could be for further expansion once the markets really turn up again. Surprised its -300s though – I thought that they were a bit stretched on segments like LHR-YVR and LHR-PEK.

With Dicky spouting on today/yesterday about BA and how VS could fill any gap as a UK airline, it would be an absolute disgrace if they didn’t go for Trent engines.

A

I can’t help wonder if we’re going to see more of a regional operation from Virgin with these. Perhaps moving into the likes of Glasgow, Liverpool, East Midlands etc..? Much as I’ve enjoyed seeing their 744’s vist GLA during the school holidays for the past couple of years, I’ve often wondered whether it’s just an experiment geared towards a greater move into the regional leisure market.