Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic's first scheduled flight took off from Gatwick for Newark on June 22, 1984. The aircraft was a leased 747-200, registration G-VIRG. The airline became profitable within its first year of operation due in part to the financial support provided by Virgin Records. The airline has continued to expand and now operates a fleet of Boeing 747-400's Airbus 340 and 360's to destinations all over the world including the USA, Caribbean, and the Far East.

Virgin Atlantic and British Airways have been involved in some bitter rivalry over the past twenty years. During the 1990s BA settled out of court when they were sued by Sir Richard Branson for libel after the BA chairman published an article about Virgin Atlantic in BA News, the internal British Airways journal. In 2007 BA was fined for £271m by the Office of Fair Trading after a price fixing investigation involving the two airlines. Virgin Atlantic were not fined because they were granted immunity for providing the tip off about the affair.

Virgin Atlantic have produced some imaginative advertising over the years, and they have many fans among its customer base and employees.