Virgin Atlantic chief executive Craig Kreeger was guest speaker at the latest Travel Weekly Business Breakfast. By CHLOE BERMAN
Craig Kreeger
LITTLE RED: BOOKINGS ‘HAVE TURNED A CORNER’
Kreeger said he is confident that Virgin Atlantic’s domestic service Little Red will continue to grow, having seen a “major shift” in bookings at the start of this year.
The domestic carrier had
load factors of just 37.6% in 2013. However, Kreeger said the airline had turned a corner at the start of the year. “We had a major shift up in booking volumes starting in January and we’ve seen a 40% increase in 2014 compared with last year in connecting customers. Booking levels are now right on plan,” he said. Kreeger dismissed comments
by IAG chief executive Willie Walsh that Little Red must be “costing a fortune”.
He said: “It’s not costing us
a fortune. It’s on a trajectory that this year it will do what it’s supposed to do. Maybe it’s costing Willie a fortune.”
Heathrow: ‘Third runway is the right choice for UK, but will Virgin benefit?’
Virgin Atlantic’s Craig Kreeger said he is confident a third runway at Heathrow would be the right choice for the UK – but admitted it is unlikely to happen during his career. Kreeger, who became chief
executive of the UK carrier in February 2013, said he had met Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the Airports Commission, on many occasions and thought he would take a “very considered view”. However, the former American Airlines executive said he didn’t know if a third runway at Heathrow would benefit Virgin. “If you tell
me how the slots are going to be allocated, I can figure it out,” he said. “If it ends up being biased towards new entrants and we don’t get our fair share of the slots, that would be dreadful for Virgin. “But I’m 100% confident it’s
right for the country. “We’ve been sitting in a
Little Red’s
booking levels ‘are on plan’
stalemate for many, many years and it’s ridiculous for the UK.” When asked if he expected to
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travelweekly.co.uk — 26 June 2014
Kreeger: ‘We’d love to add some services to Latin America’
It would be dreadful for Virgin if new
slots are biased towards new entrants
see additional airport capacity at Heathrow in his career, Kreeger said: “I’m 100% sure I will not still be
working when they have it [but] I’m hopeful that I will be alive.”
Kreeger said the failure to expand Heathrow to the same extent as Amsterdam Schiphol meant the UK airport was missing out on traffic. He also admitted he is
frustrated by UK businesses failing
to expand into emerging markets, which would create demand for new routes. He said: “We’d love to see UK businesses become more aggressive at expanding outside more traditional markets. “When you see the amount of commerce between France and Latin America, it’s frustrating for us as an airline to not see the same level of commercial development between the UK and those countries. “Because if it were there, we’d
love to add some services to Latin America.”
BUSINESS BREAKFAST PICTURES: STEVE DUNLOP
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