There was talk from the hallowed confines of Olympic house that September was always there target, this was back at the beginning of April.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jQm...ature=youtu.be

First one to go.

Good.

noisy scruffy horrible aircraft.

looking forward to flying on 787/350 in the future

Hoping to re-start New York, LAX, Orlando, Hong king & Shanghai from 20th July.

Do I assume JFK, LAX & MCO would just be from LHR?

Thought Manchester was September at earliest

Where are the old girls going to be ‘retired’?

GVGAL went to CMQ in Spain.

That was my understanding too. I was just trying to get clarification on the original post (which didn't specify LHR) for the 3 routes that have operated from MAN.

LGW
 

With VS now having temporarily withdrawn from LGW, does anyone know what is to happen to their now former check in/bag drop area in zone A in the North terminal? As of yet, it remains unclear as to when, or if VS will be returning to Gatwick in the short term, so I'd be interested to see who would be taking over this space in their absence. I can't see it going dusty and unused. The same goes for their club lounge, are there any plans for this to be reactivated for use by another airline?

Further, as all LGW flying has now been relocated to LHR, I notice as per Airline Route that all former LGW A332 routes have since been replaced by the A333- in fact, it looks as if no A332 flying will be scheduled from LHR. With this in mind, what is to happen with the A332 fleet? Where will they now be based?

Have I missed something, thought VS had permanently withdrawn?

The message is they've pulled out of LGW with immediate effect, but they hinted at a potential return in the future as they said they would retain their slots. They cited customer demand, but in reality it's anybody's guess when they will return. It could be within the next 3 years, within this decade or never at all.

I don't imagine any airlines will have plans right now in terms of taking over lounge space. In better times I would have guessed that someone like No1 might take it over. Equally VS could sell it as a buy-in option under a new airport lounge brand if they are stuck with the space. I know V-Room was only for Virgin Holidays customers, but is there any real reason why Virgin couldn't sell access to one, or both of these lounges. Swissport and No1 seem to do very well out of it - at least in the old world.

I have just received my amended booking to Orlando from Heathrow next April and it's an A330-200.

Ahh, apologies the Airline Route notes I was referring to stated no A332 LHR flying in the winter season, but note that they will fly once weekly during the summer on the LHR-MCO route

VS and LGW
 

Yes, that was the impression I got as well, in which case, a return to LGW further down the line is indeed possible and not being ruled out. In fact, it does seem plausible if VS wanted to expand frequencies on some of the more business-heavy destinations from LHR - JFK, IAD, LAX, SEA just to name a few, once the market stabilises and recovers. If that were the case, and LHR becomes maxed out again (which it will do at some point), then it makes sense for VS to shift the Caribbean/leisure network back to LGW where it has historically always been based when the time comes. Clearly they haven't totally given up on LGW just yet otherwise they wouldn't be hanging on to their slots. Only time will tell.

GVLIP Taxying around Man now.

Passing FL220 in decent for Cuidad Real

Given the situation in the US looks like continuing across the summer peak, does anyone have a view on a path to survival for VS? Like BA, they’re dead until the US opens up and certain quarters are suggesting they’ll not be open to travel from outside until the winter. So with summer effectively lost and VS intentionally not refunding in good time, what does a survival path going into winter flying look like?

GreyBull investments sniffing around bid for VS by all accounts...