Virgin Atlantic limit being expressed upon everything associated with starting up operations. Virgin Atlantic became profitable within the first 12 months, aided by sister company Virgin Records' ability to finance the lease of a secondhand Boeing 747. The firm had timed its operations to take advantage of a full summer, from June to September, which was typically the most profitable period of the year. In November 1984 the airline launched a service between Gatwick Airport and Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands using a chartered BAC One-Eleven. In 1986 the airline added another Boeing 747 to its fleet and started a scheduled
Long Island MacArthur Airport in the borough of Queens in New York City. Shuttle buses connect the airport to the Ronkonkoma Railroad Station. The FAA designated LIMA an Official Metro Airport in early 2011, meaning it is now grouped with LaGuardia, JFK and Newark in travel and informational searches for New York airports, providing better exposure to the traveling public. MacArthur Airport, which does not share the congested airspace of the city-centric airports, has an exceptional record of on-time performance. During 2009 83.6% of flights arrived on time and 85.6% of flights departed on time. During 2017 the airport served more than 1.29 million