Vigin Atlantic Question

[dfearns]

Just a quick question which has been doing my head in for ages...

why did Virgin Atlantic have A320's + A321's in their fleet?

Surly they aint capable of gettin across the 'pond'

Thanx in advance

DFearns

[Navy_Adversary]

DF
They were used on the LHR-Athens route

[dfearns]

ah! why did they do athens tho?? not very atlantic!

[Avman]

For the same reason Eastern fly BHX-IOM. Not very "eastern" is it! Oh, and by the way, Virgin Atlantic also operated LGW-MST with Viscounts at one time. So there :p

[dfearns]

alright avman! no need to bite my head off!! i was just wondering because all of their routes are quite a way away, and its just that athens is about 4 hours...a lot shorter than say SFO!

and wheres mst?

[Spiney Norman]

dfearns.
MST is Maastricht. If it makes you feel better I think Avman is incorrect and it was Luton-Maastricht. I flew on it once. Wasn't aware they did Gatwick-Maastricht at all, no doubt I'll be corrected by someone in the know!

Spiney

[Goldstone]

Virgin flew Gatwick-Maastricht with Viscounts. Then added Luton-Dublin, then Luton-Maastricht also with Viscounts. Later they switched to using a 727 of Irish charter airline Club Air on the DUB route.

[MD11FAN]

I think Richard Branson owns/owned a Greek island hence the Greek connection to Athens(served from LGW & LHR)

[Avman]

Spiney Norman,

Excuse me, but I think Avman is correct! It was MST-LGW and it was initially promoted as a connecting service for the VIR flight to EWR. I know because I used it and flew MST-LGW-EWR-LGW-MST in October 85.

dfearn,

Sorry if I sounded harsh but there are countless companies operating routes which don't necessarily follow any logic with their company name. In fact, too many to name. So, I didn't really understand your point.

[alangirvan]

I think the route to Maastricht was first operated by a a One Eleven supplied by British Island Airways. I think I was spotting planes at LGW on a cold October morning in 1984, and I saw the plane painted in Virgin Colours. I think the idea was that MST was easy driving distance from major cities in Northwestern Germany.

[rampman]

maybe the A320/321 are from the virgin sun days when they oparated flights from MAN and LGW to the med in the late 90's :ok:

[Avman]

alangirvan,

Although I don't dispute your sighting, the MST service was always operated by Viscounts in one guise or another. I work nextdoor to the airport and I have no memory of ever seeing a Virgin/BIA 1-11 operating the route. If indeed a BIA 1-11 flew with Virgin titles, this was on some other route.

[UFGBOY]

Indeed it was operated with BIA 1-11 - used to work in Reservations, - first in Woodstock Street in London, then Sussex House in Crawley and went on first LGW/MST - plenty of fizzy stuff if I recall

Those were t'days....:ok:

[Avman]

The 1-11 operation must have been very short lived. I must have been on vacation that week ;) .

[WHBM]

Just back on the original question the Virgin Atlantic aircraft did indeed operate London - Athens for a few years, first the A320 (G-OUZO) and later replaced by an A321 (G-VATH). The usual jokey Virgin registrations ! The operation was 2 round trips a day and only required one aircraft. The morning operation was through Gatwick and the evening one through Heathrow, an unusual combination. The first "reduced fare" operation to Athens, it was apparently done in by the Easyjet operation with lower fares still.

Virgin Sun was a separate operation and I believe separate investors which operated 4 A320 and A321 on the usual IT charter routes from Gatwick and Manchester. The business was sold at the end of 2001 to First Choice but the aircraft did not pass and were stored at Bristol Filton for a long time.

[Globaliser]

IIRC, I think the Athens operation went slightly further than just jokey registrations.

The flights were originally contracted/franchised out to a company called something like South East European Airways. Because of the route it was intended to operate, it adopted the radio callsign "Grecian". Virgin then numbered one of the flights "2000".

Boom, boom!

[surely not]

I can confirm that the BIA 1-11's had a Virgin logo on their tail, and if I can work out how to post on here I'll put one of my piccies on the thread.

[WHBM]

Here's such a picture from airliners.net

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/418142/M/

[newswatcher]

WHBM and here (http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=233692&WxsIERv=QWlyYnVzIEEzMjAtMjE0&WdsYXMg=VmlyZ2luIFN1bg==&QtODMg=QnJpc3RvbCAtIEZpbHRvbiAoRlpPIC8gRUdURyk=&ERDLTkt=VUsgLSBFbmdsYW5k&ktODMp=QXByaWwgMSwgMjAwMg==&WNEb25u=RGFuaWVsIEhhbWVy&xsIERvdWdsY=Ry1WS0lE&MgTUQtODMgKE=QWxvbmcgd2l0aCBHLVZUQU4gYW5kIEctVk1FRC4gSSBhc3N 1bWUgdGhlc2UgYXJlIHN0b3JlZCBhd2FpdGluZyBuZXcgb3BlcmF0b3JzPw= =&YXMgTUQtODMgKERD=NzE4&NEb25uZWxs=MjAwMi0wNS0wNw==&static=yes) is a picture of them at Filton, where they were joined by G-VATH. Most had left by middle of 2002. According to CAA register, G-VKID went to Sweden, G-VATH and G-VKIS to Spain. G-VMED and G-VTAN still owned by Virgin?

[frb98mf]

I think Branson got some ludicrously cheap deal bailing out British Mediterranean Airways or something similar back in the late 80s - inherited a couple of planes on the cheap, and their slots from LHR to Athens which were lucrative enough to keep under Virgin colours. Since disposed of route because:

1. wants to focus on long-haul routes
2. Virgin Express fly via Brussels
3. he's mates with Stelios, doesn't want to compete

PS Anyone else pining after Concorde - BA have towed it out to just in front of the east engineering area where the road crosses the apron, looks like it's there permanently. Best views as you drive across or head for gate 16.