Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, United Kingdom. The airline was established in 1984 as "British Atlantic Airways", and was originally planned by its co-founders Randolph Fields and Alan Hellary to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. Soon after changing the name to Virgin Atlantic Airways, Fields sold his shares in the company after disagreements with Sir Richard Branson over the management of the company. The maiden flight from Gatwick Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport took place
West Atlantic UK a further 6 BAe ATP freighters bringing the total orders to 11. In October 2008, it was announced that the airline would merge with West Air Sweden to form a new airline called West Atlantic with its headquarters in Sweden. On 8 December 2009, Atlantic Airlines' biggest base, Coventry Airport, was closed due to financial reasons causing Atlantic Airlines to cease all cargo flights to and from the airport. Atlantic Airlines moved all Coventry flights to Birmingham on a temporary basis as a result. However, the airline recommenced operations out of Coventry Airport due to the re-opening after it was