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 Balloon Flights Since 1997, Virgin Balloon Flights has been the trading name for AirXcite Limited. In 2006 it acquired a N-355 balloon manufactured by Ultramagic. This new balloon, that takes a of air and can carry a basket with up to 16 passengers, replaced a smaller Cameron 340 balloon. Recently Virgin Balloon Flights expanded to Italy via the sister company of AirXcite, Ballooning in Tuscany, also owned by Kenneth Karlstrom. It now has 3 launch sites in Tuscany (Florence, Siena and Poggibonsi). Virgin Balloon Flights Virgin Balloon Flights, with headquarters in Telford, Shropshire, began flying hot air balloons in 1987 and its