Virgin Atlantic is the latest airline to reveal plans to launch an all-business class transatlantic airline, which it hopes will be operating from London and mainland European cities before the end of next year.
The airline says it "intends to launch an all-business class airline within the next 12 to 18 months initially flying from cities including Paris, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich non-stop to New York and other cities". It adds that it will also fly from London to the USA, "competing against other all-business class carriers".
Virgin joins British Airways in outlining its intention to move into operating transatlantic flights in the premium sector from mainland European cities, exploiting new opportunities stemming from the recent European Union-US open skies agreement. The first phase of this will see the lifting of remaining restrictions on carriers flying from European Union countries to the USA from next spring. All-premium operators Eos, Maxjet and Silverjet have all launched in the London-US market in the past two years, using Boeing 757s and 767s.
Virgin says it is speaking to "a number of manufacturers including Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and Embraer, but cannot confirm the type or size of aircraft at this stage". The company adds the new airline may also use the Virgin Atlantic name.
Related link:
Source: Flight International
