Virgin Atlantic Pleads for Truly Open Skies

Virgin Atlantic has issued an impassioned plea for a truly open skies agreement between the USA and European Union, in upcoming talks in Washington.

Chief Executive, Steve Ridgeway, urged the EU not to give in to proposals from the U.S. Department of Transportation. He gives warning that the US may be trying to fool the EU into an unbalanced deal.

At issue is abolition of the so-called Bermuda II agreement under which only two British

and two American airlines may use the transatlantic landing and takeoff slots at London Heathrow. Other airlines want to have access and introduce greater competition.

But also on the table is the hot topic of foreign ownership and control of American carriers, and Virgin is about to launch a new airline, Virgin America, based at San Francisco International. Under U.S. law, the London-based Virgin Group is limited to 49 percent ownership and has been forced to find U.S. investors to hold 51 percent of its new venture.

Virgin and its founder, Sir Richard Branson, have a history of challenging established practices and succeeding. The Virgin America project is huge gamble in the crowded U.S. domestic airline market. It will be competing directly with low-cost carriers such as Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines, and has recruited the former Delta boss, Fred Reid, as Chief Executive.

Virgin America will be the first airline to locate its operational headquarters on the west coast, a decision that was greeted by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as “fantastic news for California”.