By Tom Ammundsen
Virgin Atlantic will celebrate its Ruby Anniversary on Saturday, June 22, 2024, marking its 40th anniversary.
Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson credited his employees for the success of the airline: “From 1984 to 2024, it’s our people who make me the proudest… They’re the red thread that keeps us all together and I know they will continue to look after our customers for the next 40 years and beyond.”
Forty years ago, Branson founded Virgin Atlantic to shake up the airline industry, by offering customers choice and unique, personal experiences. The airline carried its first customers between London and New York offering something exciting and different from the legacy carriers at the time.
The cost of Virgin Atlantic’s first ever flight from London Gatwick to Newark was just £99, so to mark its Ruby anniversary, the airline is offering Economy Classic and Delight bookings a £99 discount. Savings will be up to £199 in Premium Economy, and in Upper Class the savings will be up to £299.
Virgin Atlantic Holidays is also offering savings of up to £200 on holidays or flight & hotel packages on all destinations from the UK, and customers will receive an additional £100 when spending a minimum of £3000by using the promo code ‘BIRTHDAY’.
These discounts are only available until Monday June 24, 2024.
In other news, Virgin Atlantic has launched a new direct service from Manchester to Las Vegas, its 15th route to the US, and a new route to Toronto Pearson International Airport from London Heathrow will launch on March 30, 2025. The daily service to Canada will be operated with various aircraft types, including the A330-900neo. Virgin Atlantic has also expanded its codeshare partnership with Canadian carrier WestJet, which is slated for October this year.
The company is also expanding into countries that are not on the other side of the Atlantic. “From 2025, it will offer over a million seats to India for the first time, a 350% capacity growth since 2019.”
Virgin Atlantic operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the skies, with an average age under seven years. In October 2022, Virgin Atlantic welcomed the first of 16 A330-900neos to the fleet, continuing its transformation towards 100% next generation aircraft by 2028. In November 2023, the airline led a consortium to deliver the world’s first flight across the Atlantic on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), demonstrating that 100% SAF can be used safely as a drop in fuel in existing infrastructure, engines and airframes.