No new routes for Virgin this year
10.02.11
Virgin Atlantic has ruled out adding any new destinations this year, fuelling speculation that its expansion plans are on hold pending a possible sale or merger, ABTN reports. Speaking at the Business Travel & Meetings Show in London, sales and marketing director Paul Dickinson quashed speculation that the airline was about to expand in Latin America with the launch of a much-rumoured services to Brazil.
Mr Dickinson said there would be no new routes this year apart from the previously announced Manchester - Las Vegas flights, which launch on April 2, with expansion concentrating instead on existing, mainly leisure routes. He said: ‘We won’t be flying to Latin America this year. Part of that is our inability to secure slots at Heathrow.’
Virgin appointed Deutsche Bank last year to review its future in a consolidating market, which may include membership of an alliance. However, Mr Dickinson ruled out any immediate decision on alliance membership. He said: ‘It’s consistently under review, but for the time being we are not close to joining an alliance, but it is something we are interested in.’
He added that when expansion resumed it would include Beijing and more routes in India and Africa, where Virgin last year began flying to Ghana. He said: ‘Africa is a very interesting continent, economic growth there is explosive and the amount of air services limited.'
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