Virgin Atlantic, established in 1984 by Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary as British Atlantic Airways, has grown into one of the UK's prominent airlines. Initially aimed at connecting London with the Falkland Islands, its first flight took off from Gatwick to Newark on June 22, 1984. Today, Virgin Atlantic is part-owned by the Virgin Group (51%) and Delta Air Lines (49%), a member of the SkyTeam Alliance since March 2023.
The airline operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft, focusing on destinations across the US, Canada, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. It once operated flights to Australia via Hong Kong but ceased these routes following changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virgin Atlantic offers three classes of service: Upper Class (Business), premium economy, and economy class across its fleet of 44 aircraft. The fleet includes eight Airbus A330-300s, seven Airbus A330-900s, twelve Airbus A350-1000s in two configurations, and seventeen Boeing 787-9s.