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Virgin America
Takes Flight
As promised,
Virgin America launched on Wednesday,
August 8, 2007. Unfortunately, the very
first flight from the low-cost airline partly
backed and fully branded by British entrepreneur
Richard Branson was delayed by severe weather.
Nevertheless, company officials are buzzing
with optimism and explain how their airline
differs from other low-cost carriers. Among
other things, they mention the aircraft's
leather seats, mood lighting, entertainment
systems, first-class seating and low fares
on point-to-point flights. San Francisco-based
Virgin America is accenting hip customer
service in an attempt to build loyalty in
an industry with sharply deteriorating reliability
and customer satisfaction. The American
airline industry is abysmal," said Virgin
Group founder Branson at an event at New
York's John F. Kennedy Airport before passengers
boarded the first flight. "The reason they
go bust is they don't offer any service
to the customer.
At the event, Branson promised rapid
expansion of the new airline, which he said
would ultimately operate a fleet of 100
Airbus A320 and A319 jets. However, not
everyone is thrilled with Branson's entrance
into the competitive U.S. market. Virgin
announced its name, its order for Airbus
jets and the basics of an operating plan
in June 2004. It applied to the DOT in December
2005, triggering objections from U.S. carriers
and labor unions. Several U.S.-based airlines
and unions expressed concern about Branson's
control over the carrier and U.S. law limits
foreign ownership of such companies. This
past May, after continuing adjustments by
Virgin, the U.S. Transportation Department
mandated various changes -- including CEO
Fred Reid's departure -- to ensure the carrier's
relationship with U.K.-based Virgin Group
and Branson does not violate requirements
mandating that U.S. citizens controlling
U.S. airlines. Virgin Group holds a minority
stake in the company, which the law permits.
With these hurdles behind, the carrier
is scheduled for quick expansion. On Aug.
29, it will begin New York-Los Angeles flights.
It will add San Francisco-Washington Dulles
on Sept. 26, San Francisco-Las Vegas on
Oct. 10, and Los Angeles-Dulles on Oct.
24.
Join the
Team
With this rapid expansion comes an aggressive
hiring plan to fill many vacancies. The
San Francisco-based company is hiring for
several positions. However, the airline
is first to say I isn't for everyone. On
its website, the company writes: The courage
to re-invent yourself and the airline industry
does not call upon the meek, the satiated
and the comfortable. Virgin America is much
more than an airline that transports people
from point A to point B. In fact, it's not
an airline. It's an enrichment program.
It's a better way of life through flying.
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What kind of person is fit for the Virgin
America mission Company officials will say
they are seeking applicants who are creative,
compassionate, patient, visionary, spontaneous,
articulate, a good listener, ambitious,
fun, humble, brave, sympathetic, cool under
pressure, dedicated, curious, passionate,
energetic, inspiring and trustworthy. For
more information, visit the Virgin America
careers website.
Sir Richard
Branson
Speaking of enthusiastic people, Virgin
CEO Richard Branson was born in 1950 and
educated at Stowe School. It was here that
he began to set up a student magazine when
he was just 16. By 17 he'd also set up the
Student Advisory Centre, which was a charity
to help young people. In 1970 he founded
Virgin as a mail order record retailer,
and not long after he opened a record shop
in Oxford Street, London. During 1972 a
recording studio was built in Oxfordshire,
and the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield,
recorded "Tubular Bells" which
was released in 1973 and went on to sell
over 5 million copies. Since then many household
names, including Belinda Carlisle, Genesis,
Phil Collins, Janet Jackson and The Rolling
Stones have helped to make Virgin Music
one of the top six record companies in the
world. The equity of Virgin Music Group
- record labels, music publishing, and recording
studios was sold to THORN EMI in 1992 in
a US$1billion deal. The Virgin Group has
now expanded into international music Megastores,
air travel, mobile, financial, retail, music,
internet, drinks, rail, hotels and leisure,
with around 200 companies in over 30 countries.
Branson's timing into the US airline
market is strategic. He made his move just
U.S. carriers such as Delta Air Lines Inc.
and Northwest Airlines Corp. has only just
emerged from lengthy restructurings in bankruptcy.
As a result, they are forced cut costs in
order to deal with higher fuel prices and
tougher competition, like Virgin America.
Many industry analysts compare the new start-up
with JetBlue Airways Corp., which seven
years ago, launched in a similar fashion
on the US East coast.
Perhaps the best way to learn about Richard
Branson is to hear him in person, so to
speak. We invite you to view this week's
video feature, which includes an interview
with Branson conducted by the team at AirVenture 2005. You'll hear this
very successful entrepreneur discuss his
out-of this world venture
Virgin Galactic. This space tourism
company plans to fly passengers in low-Earth
orbit within the next decade. Want to find
out more? Well, listen to the man himself.
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