Entries by Alex Sanins

After a three-month delay, Virgin’s newest airline, V Australia, has taken to the skies offering nonstop transpacific service. The maiden voyage, Sydney-Los Angeles, marked a historic moment as the new international wing of Virgin Blue became the first Australian airline to operate the 777. The launch was scheduled for, but was pushed back due to the Boeing machinists’ strike, consequently delaying the delivery of the first aircraft.

Sir Richard Branson was joined by Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey on the maiden flight, which will be flown as a thrice weekly service until the second 777-300ER is ready (April), when this will increase to daily. V Australia is facing fierce competition from Qantas, United, and soon Delta, competing on a route that has grown by a third in the last six years. The airline owes its existence to the recent Open Skies agreement between Australia and the U.S.

Sir Richard Branson is in the middle of an eight-day, round-the-world publicity stunt to try and find a look-alike. Not only is this to celebrate Virgin Atlantic's twenty-fifth anniversary, but also to illustrate the fact that Virgin now offers round-the-world airfares: one can fly from London to Sydney with Virgin Atlantic, to Los Angeles with V Australia, and on to London either directly with Virgin Atlantic or via another U.S. point with Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic. The number of route possibilities will grow as Los Angeles-bound flights from both Brisbane and Melbourne are added throughout the course of the year. Additionally, V Australia is looking to expand to Johannesburg by the end of the year, and is trying to secure a lease for a seventh 777-300ER.

At the moment we do not have an aircraft to offer our pilots, although it is only a matter of time before a repaint is released. Of course, we will inform everyone when this happens.

This topic is being discussed on the Message Boards.

Virgin Nigeria began Embraer 190AR service last Wednesday with service from Lagos to Enugu after taking delivery of their first late last month. This is the first delivery of 10 (and up to 24) new Embraer aircraft, consisting of E-170s and E-190ARs (and possibly E-195s in the future). As Virgin Nigeria receives more of these aircraft they will begin to phase out the current shorthaul fleet of 737-300s, ATR 42s, and Fokker 50s and ultimately be left with a strong Embraer-centered shorthaul fleet.

The new Embraers are fitted with state-of-the-art satellite-based IFE systems, which will give shorthaul passengers a more pleasurable flight. Virgin Nigeria CEO Conrad Clifford, said, “We are proud to be the first carrier to introduce this technologically advanced aircraft in the African Sub-Saharan region.”

At the moment the aircraft is not available for download, although we will offer this aircraft as soon as a high-quality repaint is available.

I’m pleased to inform pilots that Virgin Virtual now offers the E-190 in Virgin Blue livery. This is the first time that SimAirline.net has offered this aircraft type, and I hope that many pilots will enjoy flying it. The E-190 will join the E-170 at Virgin Virtual and operate between Australia's larger cities and also outreaches to smaller Australian towns where a 737 would not be best suited. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the range of flights that Virgin Blue's Embraers fly, and it may bring to your attention smaller airports that you may never have thought to fly to. For pilots that like to fly between major airports, Virgin Blue's Embraer service between Sydney and Canberra is thriving and offers several flights to choose from.