Flying Higher

That's great for folks who can afford it. But for the rest of us, are higher fares for all airlines simply unavoidable?
We're all going to have to re-price. The world needs a viable air travel industry; global trade demands it. In terms of fares and fuel prices, none of us are at a place we could have recognized clearly two years ago. We clearly need more fuel-efficient aircraft, but fuel surcharges are going to go up. Consider this: Taxes and fuel surcharges on a ticket from London to Los Angeles amount to about £300. But that only recovers 30 to 40 percent of our actual fuel costs.

Speaking of more efficient aircraft, in February, Virgin experimented with a jet powered by biofuels. The test generated good publicity, but is such a plane really practical? Do you really have plans to convert your fleet?
It's not a question of conversion. You don't have to change a plane's engine to run on biofuels, that's the great thing about it. Of course, we don't want to displace food crops, so now we're looking at biofuels created from algae. … We did it to prove and send a message that it's possible to do, that we don't need to rely entirely on fossil fuels and that we can all do more. Meanwhile, we're also working with Rolls Royce and General Electric to make our fleet sleeker, lighter and more efficient.

Let's switch gears a bit … About 10 years ago, Richard Branson told NEWSWEEK that Virgin's new planes would offer double beds and that he'd name those private cabins The Mile High Club. What ever happened to that?
We've offered double beds on our 747s for two and half years. We chose not use that name, but our passengers may call it what they like.

© 2008