Virgin Atlantic at Port Stanley Airport, and the time it would take to improve it, would render a route to the Falklands commercially unviable, thus the idea of such a service was dropped. In its place, Hellary and Fields commenced efforts to secure a licence to operate a route Gatwick Airport, London and John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. During May 1983, a three-day inquiry was conducted, which chose to reject the application following objections from British Airways, British Caledonian and BAA. Hellary and Fields then applied for a licence between Gatwick and Newark, New Jersey, using a 380-seat McDonnell
Virgin Atlantic reported to be considering axing its new Little Red domestic airline after suffering heavy losses. On 6 October 2014, Virgin Atlantic confirmed that Little Red services between London and Manchester would end in March 2015, and that the Scottish routes would be terminated in September 2015. Passengers used the routes from point to point as opposed to using it as a connection for longer haul Virgin Atlantic flights. The former BMI routes continued with rival airline British Airways. In June 2015, Richard Branson admitted that Virgin Atlantic would be in "real trouble" without strategic support from Delta Air Lines. With