Virgin Atlantic a result of a High Court action, this additional payment was received shortly before Fields' death in 1997. On 22 June 1984, Virgin Atlantic operated its inaugural scheduled service, flown between Gatwick and Newark using a leased Boeing 747-200 (registration ), christened "Maiden Voyager", which had been formerly operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas. From the onset, its activities were augmented by leveraging existing Virgin Group resources, such as tickets being sold at Virgin Megastores record shops. Part of Richard Branson's declared approach to business is to either succeed within the first year or exit the market; this ethos includes a one-year
Virgin Atlantic under a three-year contract. In September 2014, it was reported that Virgin was considering closing its domestic brand after suffering heavy losses, with Civil Aviation Authority figures confirming an average seat occupancy level of just 37.6% in 2013. The 12 daily pairs of take-off and landing slots at Heathrow cannot be sold to be used for long-haul routes. On 6 October 2014, Virgin confirmed that the Little Red service would cease; flights to Manchester ended on 28 March 2015 and flights to Edinburgh and Aberdeen ended on 26 September 2015. On 13 April 2015, Virgin Atlantic incorporated a new subsidiary