Little Red's a big hit
RICHARD Branson heralded the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s Little Red domestic services with a warning to rivals that his latest venture would bring ‘stiff competition’. Little Red is now operating a schedule of 26 daily flights between London Heathrow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Aberdeen, and expects to carry up to a million passengers a year. Promoting the new services
in Edinburgh, Branson lifted a tailor-made Harris Tweed kilt in Virgin Atlantic colours to reveal the cheeky ‘stiff competition’ message. “Virgin Atlantic Little Red is
the next step on our exciting journey, allowing us to offer a more connected network which will deliver sustained and effective competition at home and around the world,” says Branson. Virgin Atlantic’s new chief
executive, Craig Kreeger, adds, “The Heathrow-Edinburgh
GATWICK ON THE RISE
PASSENGER numbers passing through Gatwick Airport continue to rise, with bosses attributing the growth to new airlines launching routes together with the expansion of incumbent carriers. Over 2.57 million people
travelled through the airport in March – up 2.5 per cent on the same month in 2012 – with long-haul traffic up 5.1 per cent. Full-year traffic grew by 1.2
per cent, with new airlines operating out of Gatwick – including Air China, Air Arabia Maroc, Icelandair and Vueling – contributing to the growth. In contrast, Ryanair has withdrawn all its non-Irish routes from Gatwick, Korean Air dropped its short-lived service to Seoul (but still flies there from Heathrow), Adria moved its operations to Luton and Air Moldova has switched its services to Stansted.
route is key to Little Red’s strategy to provide strong and effective competition. It is the busiest UK air route, with Edinburgh being a thriving financial centre and the seat of the Scottish government." He continues, “Our Little
Red service is all about connectivity to the rest of the world. Virgin Atlantic flies to over 30 destinations around the globe and passengers can now start their journey with us even closer to home.”
Kreeger says there have
been “impressive numbers of connecting journeys being booked,” with Tokyo, New York JFK and San Francisco the top destinations from Edinburgh. From Aberdeen, JFK and Shanghai are the most popular connections. All Little Red services are
operated by Airbus A320 aircraft with just one cabin class. Flights start from £99 but promotional fares are currently available.
Five minutes with... Jill Palmer
Operations Director Click Travel
Jill is responsible for the overall operation of the business, including customer service, implementation and account management. Formerly customer operations director of Mercedes-Benz UK, Jill has overseen customer contact centres in the UK and a multimillion- turnover roadside recovery business.
What is your most memorable business travel trip and why? About ten years ago, when I was at Mercedes-Benz, I was flown in a private jet to Skibo Castle near Inverness. They had hired the castle for us to demonstrate the level of luxury that some customers lived in and the service they demanded. It was a lesson I have never forgotten and it was an enjoyable experience too!
What is your worst business travel experience and why? I once lead a series of acquisitions that had to be finalised in a short period of time. Straight after the deals we took a trailer on the road to introduce ourselves and engage staff. It was important to set out our vision and set employees’ minds at rest, but I know now what it feels like to be on tour and it wasn’t nice!
What is your favourite destination worldwide and why? I love any city that also has a beach. I am a city girl at heart and I love the buzz, the shopping and the culture of a big city. Combining this with a beach gives me the best of both worlds, and Australia has many examples of this.
ETIHAD HITS OUT AT ALLIANCES
ETIHAD Airways’ president and CEO, James Hogan, says legacy airline alliances have ‘outlived their usefulness,’ as he announced the airline’s best ever first quarter results. Delivering a keynote speech
at the International Aviation Club in Washington DC, Hogan said, “Traditional airline alliances have evolved into slow-to-respond, bureaucratic organisations that struggle to deliver added value to their member airlines.” Etihad Airways, which has eschewed alliances but has 42 codeshares around the
world, posted a profit of $42million in 2012 and saw two of its equity partners – airberlin and Air Seychelles – return to profit this year. Hogan said Etihad's business model, a combin- ation of organic growth, codeshares and minority equity investments, was proving effective in building passenger numbers, revenue and profit for all its partners. Qatar Airways recently announced it will be the first of the big Middle Eastern carriers to join an alliance, opting for oneworld.
What three items do you never leave home without when travelling? I can’t stay overnight anywhere without a book to read so my Kindle is essential. I also love sitting in cafés jotting notes down about anything and everything so a notebook and pen are my other two.
What single thing could be done to improve your role in business travel? Right now we need more space! Click Travel is growing at 99 per cent a year and we are running out of meeting room space in the office.
What destination/s would you like to visit next and why? I have enough BA points for two business class flights to New York. I've not been before and plan to go in October with my husband, which will be a real treat.
THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 51
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