Originally Posted by President Bush
Bus.Boeing's on the way out.
Should have picked this up earlier!
There's no way the Boeing's on the way out. There are (IIRC) 13 B744s on strength, varying in age from about 14 years down to 2 or so. The fleet is split half at LGW and half at LHR, though they will all eventually end up at LGW (with an outstation at MAN). The B744 is an excellent solution for the Caribbean and US holiday routes, and I get the feeling the company would like a few more. As that's no longer an option (and recent s/h GE-powered 744s aren't readily available), they are beginning to look at what to do in order to maintain and expand this side of the business. Rumour would have it that the B772/773 is in the frame, and there don't seem to be too many sensible 350+ seat alternatives available (the 380 is not a practicable solution for Caribbean and similar destinations)! Therefore, I think it's fair to say that Boeing will have a place in Virgin's fleet for some considerable time to come.