Company Watch - Virgin Group.

For more company news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Jul 3, 2006

Virgin Atlantic Airways said its entire fleet will be equipped by 2009 with Tempus, a telemedicine device that uses satellite technology to transmit information regarding ill or injured passengers to medical professionals at the MedAire Center in Phoenix so diagnosis can be made and expert advice given to flight crews. Jun 29, 2006

Virgin Atlantic plans to continue expanding its services, adding a fourth daily London Heathrow-New York JFK flight on July 1 and a second daily LHR-Hong Kong flight from February 2007--it will operate a second flight four-times-weekly on the route from November 2006. It will launch LHR-Montego Bay service July 3 and plans to begin operating twice-weekly 747-400 flights between London Gatwick and Mauritius from November 2007. Montego Bay and Mauritius will become the 27th and 28th destinations in its network. Jun 27, 2006

Virgin Atlantic provided no more details on the UK-US price-fixing investigation of British Airways that reportedly was triggered by a tip-off from Virgin. A high-profile US law firm filed a class-action suit against BA and Virgin on June 23 following press reports of the UK-US probe. The lawsuit accuses the airlines of engaging in a "global conspiracy" to fix prices on long-haul flights to and from Jun 27, 2006

Virgin Atlantic said premium-paying passengers, who increased 10.1% over the prior year, provided a big earnings boost. "The profits came despite a tougher operating environment, with a 30% increase in fuel costs over the year and continuing overcapacity on some routes, especially between the UK and the North Atlantic," it said in a statement. Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Nigeria carried a combined 4.9 million passengers for the year, up 11%. Jun 27, 2006

Virgin doubles annual profit, cites growth in business passengers. Virgin Atlantic reported a pre-tax profit of [pounds sterling]41.6 million ($75.6 million) for the fiscal year ended Feb. 28, more than double the [pounds sterling]20.1 million earned a year ago, a jump it attributed to a "large increase" in business passengers at primary subsidiary Virgin Atlantic Airways.The company, also parent to Virgin Nigeria Airways and tour operator Virgin Holidays, posted annual revenues of [pounds sterling]1.91 billion, up 17.2% from [pounds sterling]1.63 billion in the previous fiscal year. Jun 27, 2006

Virgin reportedly tipped off authorities to alleged BA price-fixing. Virgin Atlantic Airways reported rival British Airways to the UK Office of Fair Trading for inappropriate phone calls that a BA executive allegedly made to Virgin executives regarding fuel surcharges, a tip-off that triggered a joint UK-US probe into possible "cartel activity," British media said Friday. Jun 26, 2006