Branson looks to the future
Sir Richard Branson has vowed to take on Qantas and “put the heart back into Virgin Blue” as the battle for control of Patrick Corp charges towards a finale.
In Sydney to mark the first anniversary of the first service to Australia of his other airline, Virgin Atlantic, Sir Richard said his long-stalled plans to launch a new Virgin Blue long-haul airline were now predicated on Virgin Group regaining management control of the Patrick-controlled airline.
“If, God forbid, Toll fails in what they are trying to do, my best guess is I’ll have to dig deep in my pockets and get a few other friends and try to find another way of buying out Patrick Corp,” he said.
“I would hope by this time next month we’ll be coming out the end of the tunnel and hopefully headed for victory on this one.”
“We will get in there and take on Qantas head on, and turn Virgin Blue into the formidable competitor to Qantas that we set out to do some years ago.”
The plan would be to merge Virgin Blue and Virgin Atlantic to form a truly International carrier. “People would be able to fly around the world with the same airline if they wanted — from Sydney to LA, from LA to London, from London to Hong Kong, then from Hong Kong back to Sydney,” he said.
He also confirmed that Virgin Blue would use specialised aircraft to combine with Toll and move in to the freight arena.
Graham Muldoon
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
All eyes on Qatar as Qatar Airways leads a season of global events