Why do I get the feeling there are many BMI employees posting here
The name may be Virgin Atlantic, but I think you will find that Virgin has a route network extending in all directions. Certainly not just to the US, they learned that lesson after 911.
Someone mentioned brand awareness. As an independant observer (and an international one), I have to say that BMI may be a well know brand in the UK (possibly), but internationally hardly anyone actually has even heard of it. Virgin is a well known brand all over the world.
Anyway, just some points to make to put some balance back into this argument.