
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.
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