Further details have emerged concerning Virgin Atlantic's plans for its newly established subsidiary, Virgin Atlantic International (VGI, London Heathrow).
Though initial reports have indicated Virgin will equip Virgin Atlantic International with a pair of A330-300s - presumably G-VKSS (cn 1201) and G-VSXY (cn 1195) - to be used by its parent for use on London Gatwick-Caribbean flights, according to Sky News, the UK carrier is also planning to place its London Heathrow slots under Virgin Atlantic International's ownership effectively mortgaging them by paying a dividend to outside investors.
Talks with prospective partner firms are currently ongoing with a deal likely to be signed by year-end. Proceeds from the agreement will be used to invest in Virgin Atlantic's "customer experience", including upgrades to its fleet of aircraft.
Aside from its extensive mainline Heathrow operations, Virgin has retained three of the twelve London Heathrow slot pairings its Little Red unit relinquished when it ended operations in September. The other nine have since been returned to British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) which gave them up in return for European Commission approval of its takeover of bmi british midland (Nottingham East Midlands) in 2012.
