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Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2001
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Any bets on whether they will pick up some US Air assets at fire sale prices?
Virgin To Start U.S. Carrier By Fall; Base List Narrowed
By Steve Lott
January 9, 2004
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson claims he is on track to launch a Virgin-branded U.S. domestic low-fare carrier this fall, as the carrier recently narrowed the list of possible base cities to three and will soon name a CEO for the operation.
"We're nearly there," Branson told The DAILY in Mojave, Calif., at a press event for the rollout of the Burt Rutan-designed Virgin Globalflyer that will attempt a nonstop round-the-world flight with a solo pilot this year. Branson last year said he hoped to launch the U.S. carrier this summer (DAILY, July 17), but he said yesterday the start of the company may slip to September. Branson traveled from Mojave to New York today to interview finalists for the CEO position of Virgin US.
Fed up with waiting for the U.S. to liberalize foreign ownership rules, Branson last year decided to move ahead with a U.S. domestic carrier within the existing restrictions. Executives were mum yesterday on how the carrier plans to skirt the rules. He told The DAILY, however, that he is in discussions with "an existing player about carving out a chunk of their slots of their airline." He said he should know in a month if that plan will go ahead, and if not, "we'll start it from scratch."
Virgin currently has a team of about six staffmembers assigned to the U.S. domestic project, who are still working through the final details of the business plan, which will eventually include an order for roughly 10-15 Airbus or Boeing narrowbody aircraft, Branson confirmed. Last year, he said the majority owners likely will be a "number of institutional partners," but a final decision has not been made, sources said.
The Virgin team is working aggressively to choose a U.S. base for the new carrier, and The DAILY has learned that the list has been narrowed to three cities -- Boston, San Francisco and Washington. Sources said Los Angeles was recently cut from the short list, even though there was recent lobbying by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) DAILY, Dec. 2, 2003).
Also off the list is Philadelphia, likely because of Southwest's recent announcement to start operations at the airport this spring. One Virgin source said Boston has been particularly aggressive in its efforts to win the competition. JetBlue this week started flights from Boston, and the airport authorities and Commonwealth of Massachusetts are eager for additional low-fare competition.
While there is plenty of capacity at Washington Dulles for Virgin, the carrier may face competition from the planned start of Atlantic Coast's Independence Air operation later this year. SFO looks to be the underdog to land Virgin US as it faces weather problems and is more expensive than other airports.
Separately, Branson told The DAILY he plans to place an order for additional aircraft within the next quarter, but talks are still in progress. The airline needs additional long-haul aircraft to support its planned expansion to Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Australia.
Virgin To Start U.S. Carrier By Fall; Base List Narrowed
By Steve Lott
January 9, 2004
Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson claims he is on track to launch a Virgin-branded U.S. domestic low-fare carrier this fall, as the carrier recently narrowed the list of possible base cities to three and will soon name a CEO for the operation.
"We're nearly there," Branson told The DAILY in Mojave, Calif., at a press event for the rollout of the Burt Rutan-designed Virgin Globalflyer that will attempt a nonstop round-the-world flight with a solo pilot this year. Branson last year said he hoped to launch the U.S. carrier this summer (DAILY, July 17), but he said yesterday the start of the company may slip to September. Branson traveled from Mojave to New York today to interview finalists for the CEO position of Virgin US.
Fed up with waiting for the U.S. to liberalize foreign ownership rules, Branson last year decided to move ahead with a U.S. domestic carrier within the existing restrictions. Executives were mum yesterday on how the carrier plans to skirt the rules. He told The DAILY, however, that he is in discussions with "an existing player about carving out a chunk of their slots of their airline." He said he should know in a month if that plan will go ahead, and if not, "we'll start it from scratch."
Virgin currently has a team of about six staffmembers assigned to the U.S. domestic project, who are still working through the final details of the business plan, which will eventually include an order for roughly 10-15 Airbus or Boeing narrowbody aircraft, Branson confirmed. Last year, he said the majority owners likely will be a "number of institutional partners," but a final decision has not been made, sources said.
The Virgin team is working aggressively to choose a U.S. base for the new carrier, and The DAILY has learned that the list has been narrowed to three cities -- Boston, San Francisco and Washington. Sources said Los Angeles was recently cut from the short list, even though there was recent lobbying by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) DAILY, Dec. 2, 2003).
Also off the list is Philadelphia, likely because of Southwest's recent announcement to start operations at the airport this spring. One Virgin source said Boston has been particularly aggressive in its efforts to win the competition. JetBlue this week started flights from Boston, and the airport authorities and Commonwealth of Massachusetts are eager for additional low-fare competition.
While there is plenty of capacity at Washington Dulles for Virgin, the carrier may face competition from the planned start of Atlantic Coast's Independence Air operation later this year. SFO looks to be the underdog to land Virgin US as it faces weather problems and is more expensive than other airports.
Separately, Branson told The DAILY he plans to place an order for additional aircraft within the next quarter, but talks are still in progress. The airline needs additional long-haul aircraft to support its planned expansion to Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Australia.
