Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic is a major British success story. From their first leased jumbo to the UK's second largest long haul airline, they have come a long way - and there's still much more to do.Our mission statement is simple, yet the foundation of everything we do at Virgin Atlantic Airways... to embrace the human spirit and let it fly.

Back in the early 80s, Richard Branson was probably best known for Virgin Records - the legendary record label that signed major names like the Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and The Human League.

In 1984, much to the horror of his directors, Richard announced to the world that a high quality, value for money airline would begin operating within three months.Three months, some licences, staff and an aircraft packed with celebrities later, Virgin Atlantic Airways was born.

By the end of the decade we had flown over 1 million passengers and started shaking up services onboard by being the first airline to offer individual TVs to their business class passengers.