• Home
• /
• Aviation

Virgin confident with Delta equity deal

LONDON - Virgin Atlantic Airways will go on the offensive under new chief executive officer Craig Kreeger as an equity deal with Delta Air Lines gives it the backing to take on bigger rivals, outgoing CEO Steve Ridgway said.

By Kari Lundgren (Bloomberg)

• Follow us on
• 
• 
• 

Published: Sun 10 Feb 2013, 9:29 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 3:02 AM

Kreeger, a 53-year-old American, was appointed to the top position on January 8, four weeks after Delta agreed to pay Singapore Airlines $360 million for a 49 per cent stake in Virgin, which is majority owned by billionaire Richard Branson.

“There’s now a shareholder with a significant strategic interest in what Virgin Atlantic brings them,” Ridgway said in an interview. “We’ve been in fighting mode for the last four to five years. This should put us back on a growth trajectory.”

The first task for Kreeger, who took over on February 1, will be to expedite the two-month old joint venture agreement with Delta, Ridgway said. The new CEO’s 27 years at AMR, where he helped coordinate a joint venture between American Airlines and BA, should help him deliver on the new tie-up, he said.

“He brings a wealth of experience at American in dealing and working with British Airways,” Ridgway said in London. “That’s what we need because we’ve got to put together this North Atlantic joint venture now and there is a set of skills there that Virgin needs to have.”

Delta and Virgin are seeking antitrust immunity that would let them coordinate schedules and pricing and share costs and sales from 31 joint-venture flights over the Atlantic regardless of whose plane operates the route. They also will offer reciprocal frequent-flier benefits and use of airport lounges. The deal also gives Delta a platform at London Heathrow.