Hi Danny,
Not in the sandpit - about another 3000 miles east of Dubai! And as for meeting up for another beer or two, the closest I get to any of the VS 744 destiantions is Tokyo!
I meet up with mates in Virgin on their visits to my new home and things do seem better. Better pay, better rostering and it now looks like BALPA representation is having an effect. (In the dark days after 9/11 they just let the VCC get on with it with predicatble results). But the legendary party days of Virgin have gone forever.
The company was pretty naive prior to 9/11 - my contract looked like it had been penned by a 15 year old - and there was no redundancy policy. When the chips were down and redundancies were first announced in fleet, the workforce took a blow that will not be forgotten - even the irrepressable Scroggs had a few choice things to say about the company on the VOICE. And when negotiations progressed and redundancies were eventually decided on in seniority, a lot of people had already gone never to return and the company engineered keeping those on the 744 regardless of seniority.
For many in Virgin at that time, this won't be forgotten. For me, (even though being on the 744 and not actually being made forcibly redundant) it soured my opinion of the company. Also, the 744 lifestyle of 5 or 6 East Coast USA trips a month, the Gatwick reports, abuse of the Florida 2 variation and the apparently very long time to command meant I could no longer enjoy working for the only company I aspired to on leaving the military.
It's much better now, but not perfect!