25.06.05
Gatwick Airport based Virgin Atlantic celebrated its 21st birthday this week, with a gala bash to New York, the city where it all began.
In 1984, Virgin only had one 747 Jumbo, one destination - New York's JFK Airport - and a tiny flight crew. It now has a fleet of 32 aircraft travelling to 24 destinations and employs more than 8,000 staff. New flights to Cuba and the Bahamas begin on Monday while scheduled services to Dubai and Jamaica are scheduled to take off next year.
The celebration flight took off from London's Heathrow to JFK with Branson on board along with 21 competition winners. It was met in New York by Pamela Anderson. Virgin's chairman, Sir Richard Branson, said: 'Over the past 21 years, we have carried more than 40 million passengers, and in the next five years we plan to double in size.'
Branson added that a flight to New York 21 years ago was £119, compared to Virgin Atlantic's cheapest fare this year of £118. For more information visit www.virgin.com/atlantic or telephone 08705 747 747.
