NEWS THE INTERVIEW QUICK fi ŭ
Where is home? Guildford, Surrey
The last book you read? The One Thing by Gary Keller
Favourite holiday destination? Barbados
What do you enjoy doing
while on holiday? Relaxing and digital-detoxing
What has been your best experience working in travel? Travelling Upper Class on
Virgin Atlantic – that feeling never gets old!
Which one thing about the
excited about this,” Haslet says. “A lot of people tend to connect through but our flight is direct. It’s a great one for touring companies and agents puting together adventure itineraries.” Along with new routes, extra
capacity has been piled on for summer 2020 – with ex-Manchester services a big focus. Haslet says an 30,000 additional flights out of Manchester this winter were partly down to the collapse of Tomas Cook, but much of the new product was already in Virgin Atlantic’s plans including its new Escape Plus Lounge, which is slated to open at the northern airport in spring 2020. He pointed out that capacity from the airport grew 20% last year. “We are really commited to
Manchester,” he adds. “It’s a regional hub for us, which is great news for agents in the north. Tere is a massive population within a two-hour journey – and having a Clubhouse experience will be great for those premium customers, which can be lucrative for agents.” Manchester flights serve New
travelweekly.co.uk
York JFK, Barbados, Las Vegas, Boston, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Orlando, and Haslet says there is “potential for future new routes”. “Te main message is growth,”
he says. “We are really growing in Manchester.”
Regional presence And it’s not just London and Manchester, he adds, pointing out direct flights from Glasgow and Belfast to Orlando. More regional flying is certainly
on the cards. Just last week, the new name for Flybe, which Virgin led a consortium to acquire earlier this year, was revealed. Services will operate under the Virgin Connect banner from next year. Haslet says: “It’s going to give us a lot more regional presence, connecting people to our long-haul network. It really gives the trade a complete proposition, and a really interesting proposition to sell.” Te wider Virgin family celebrates
its 50th anniversary in 2020, and Haslet says Atlantic was going big
as the “brand that holds the travel vertical [agency and operator Virgin Holidays, cruise line Virgin Voyages and Virgin Hotels] together”. With 2020 such a milestone year,
Virgin wants to include its agent partners in the celebrations. Haslet teased a planned trade
incentive to launch early next year and says incentives will be given to agents in a way that is a “first in the airline industry”. He also promises that the airline
will be “completely redesigning our fam and educational trips”, but at this stage could only go as far as saying there would be more of them, in a “revitalised format” so agents should “watch this space”. Trade site VS Flying Hub is also set
to be “completely refreshed” in time for January, which Haslet appreciates is the “key selling period for agents”. “In the lead-up to that we are
geting the message across that we should be seen as the most-loved airline for the trade,” Haslet says. It’s quite a change from the message he had to give in his former role.
industry would you change? I’d transform the way capacity is allocated to an expanded Heathrow. It’s essential the airport offers effective competition
What inspired you to work
in travel? My love of travelling and meeting new people
Which three people in travel would you invite to a dinner
party? Brian Chesky, chief executive of Airbnb; Michael Levie, chief executive of CitizenM; and Virgin Galactic chief executive George T Whitesides
Which three people not in
travel would you invite? My favourite comedian, Jerry Seinfeld; Apple’s former head of retail, Angela Ahrendts; and former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson
24 OCTOBER 2019
15
PICTURE: Billypix
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
