Virgin add to fleet as destination wish list unveiled

Richard Branson today announced his airline Virgin Atlantic was placing firm orders for 13 new aircraft in a £3bn (€4.5bn) deal as he announced a 'wish list' of new destinations.

Virgin has opted for the Airbus 340-600. The deal, which includes options for 13 more A340-600s, means that giant US planemaker Boeing, which had hoped Branson would buy its Boeing 777, has missed out.

Virgin will start taking delivery of the Airbus planes in 2006. The airline already has five A340-600s on order as well as six of the superjumbo Airbus A380s.

“One of the reasons we have gone for Airbus is that a number of our passengers have stated a preference for four-engined planes,” said a Virgin spokesman today.

Branson also announced today that he planned to double the size of Virgin Atlantic over the next five years so that by around 2009 the airline will be carrying some eight million passengers a year.

The Virgin chairman also outlined a “wish list” of new destinations that Virgin is currently evaluating and to which the airline hopes to fly over the next five years.

This list comprises Melbourne, Dubai, Bangkok, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), Chicago, Toronto, Jamaica, Nairobi and Rio de Janeiro.

Virgin also intends to increase frequency on a number of its existing routes, including New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco and also expand services at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports.