Virgin America
There have been plenty of strong words said this week about the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the USA about open skies agreements, but one airline which seems to have been relatively quiet on this issue is Virgin Atlantic.
It is well known that however much Richard Branson loves to take on his competitors, Virgin still have quite a nice little arrangement at Heathrow, which prevents rivals like BMI, and European airlines like Lufthansa, from operating competing flights against them to the USA.
Meanwhile, preparations are well under way for the start of Virgin America, which is set to launch no frills flights from San Francisco this summer. Airline ownership is a big part of the open skies negotiations, but it looks like Virgin have found enough local partners to enable them to get started under the current regulations.