[font=Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif]Virgin orders Airbus jets worth $5.5 billion[/font]
Airline to double its fleet as it takes on rival British Airways
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Reuters[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 9:00 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2004[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]LONDON - Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways ordered new Airbus jets worth $5.5 billion on Thursday to double its fleet as it takes on arch-rival British Airways Plc.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin said it would create 6,000 new jobs and fly new routes to Australia and the Caribbean after placing orders and options for 26 long-range A340-600 aircraft.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The deal was a coup for Airbus, 80 percent owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. NV, which beat U.S. giant Boeing Co for the order.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“This is by some way the biggest aircraft order in Virgin Atlantic’s history and will enable us to double the size of the airline over the next five years,” Branson told reporters at his London home.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin placed orders for 13 new A340-600 aircraft with options for a further 13. Based on list prices, Virgin said the total deal is valued at $5.5 billion, with deliveries taking place between 2006-08,[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The airline currently has 29 aircraft, a mixture of Boeing 747s and A340s. It also has ordered six of Airbus’ A380 super-jumbo planes.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Branson said the airline hoped to take on its biggest rival, British Airways, as it expands its long-haul network out of London with new planned routes to Australia and the Caribbean.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It wants to double the number of passengers flying on its planes each year from 4 million to 8 million. The new planes will be used to add capacity to its existing network to the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, India, the Caribbean and Africa.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The company also is eyeing a range of new routes in Australia, the Middle East, Asia and North America.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]British jobs
Branson said Virgin picked the four-engine Airbus aircraft over Boeing’s 777 planes because passengers preferred the extra engines, but also said he took into account the fact Airbus was European and would create jobs in Britain.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The A340-600 wide-body passenger jets are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin already has orders for Airbus’ mammoth 555-seat A380 double-decker aircraft but in May delayed plans to start flying the new aircraft until late 2007, more than a year later than originally planned.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, is 20 percent by BAE Systems Plc. It confirmed the order in a statement.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Singapore Airlines Ltd owns a 49-percent stake in Virgin. Branson owns the other 51 percent.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin’s order adds to the chorus of other airline and aerospace executives talking about a gradual industry recovery after three years of savage cutbacks amid an economic downturn. But concerns about the recovery in the airline industry increased again this week as oil prices hit record highs.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin Atlantic cut 1,200 jobs in September 2001.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]At the Farnborough Air Show in Britain last month, Airbus announced deals for up to 86 aircraft worth around $10.6 billion. A deal with Etihad Airways outstripped the Virgin order with a value of up to $7 billion.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Branson told the news conference the airline had people in Nigeria talking about the possibility of a new start-up African carrier. He also confirmed media reports that U.S. investment firm Green Briar Equity Group may be one of the lead investors in its new U.S. budget airline Virgin America.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.[/font]
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So who's going to fly all those birds...? Do they hire americans, or is our training inferior?
Airline to double its fleet as it takes on rival British Airways
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Reuters[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Updated: 9:00 a.m. ET Aug. 5, 2004[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]LONDON - Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic Airways ordered new Airbus jets worth $5.5 billion on Thursday to double its fleet as it takes on arch-rival British Airways Plc.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin said it would create 6,000 new jobs and fly new routes to Australia and the Caribbean after placing orders and options for 26 long-range A340-600 aircraft.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The deal was a coup for Airbus, 80 percent owned by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. NV, which beat U.S. giant Boeing Co for the order.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]“This is by some way the biggest aircraft order in Virgin Atlantic’s history and will enable us to double the size of the airline over the next five years,” Branson told reporters at his London home.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin placed orders for 13 new A340-600 aircraft with options for a further 13. Based on list prices, Virgin said the total deal is valued at $5.5 billion, with deliveries taking place between 2006-08,[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The airline currently has 29 aircraft, a mixture of Boeing 747s and A340s. It also has ordered six of Airbus’ A380 super-jumbo planes.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Branson said the airline hoped to take on its biggest rival, British Airways, as it expands its long-haul network out of London with new planned routes to Australia and the Caribbean.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It wants to double the number of passengers flying on its planes each year from 4 million to 8 million. The new planes will be used to add capacity to its existing network to the U.S., Hong Kong, Japan, India, the Caribbean and Africa.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The company also is eyeing a range of new routes in Australia, the Middle East, Asia and North America.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]British jobs
Branson said Virgin picked the four-engine Airbus aircraft over Boeing’s 777 planes because passengers preferred the extra engines, but also said he took into account the fact Airbus was European and would create jobs in Britain.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The A340-600 wide-body passenger jets are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin already has orders for Airbus’ mammoth 555-seat A380 double-decker aircraft but in May delayed plans to start flying the new aircraft until late 2007, more than a year later than originally planned.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Airbus, based in Toulouse, France, is 20 percent by BAE Systems Plc. It confirmed the order in a statement.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Singapore Airlines Ltd owns a 49-percent stake in Virgin. Branson owns the other 51 percent.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin’s order adds to the chorus of other airline and aerospace executives talking about a gradual industry recovery after three years of savage cutbacks amid an economic downturn. But concerns about the recovery in the airline industry increased again this week as oil prices hit record highs.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Virgin Atlantic cut 1,200 jobs in September 2001.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]At the Farnborough Air Show in Britain last month, Airbus announced deals for up to 86 aircraft worth around $10.6 billion. A deal with Etihad Airways outstripped the Virgin order with a value of up to $7 billion.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Branson told the news conference the airline had people in Nigeria talking about the possibility of a new start-up African carrier. He also confirmed media reports that U.S. investment firm Green Briar Equity Group may be one of the lead investors in its new U.S. budget airline Virgin America.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Copyright 2004 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.[/font]
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');if(window.print){window.print()}else{alert('To print his page press Ctrl-P on your keyboard \nor choose print from your browser or device after clicking OK');}}[font=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5611704/[/font]
So who's going to fly all those birds...? Do they hire americans, or is our training inferior?
