Great Western Coffee Shop

From the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-52542038)

And retiring its last four engine jets too, with 7 747-400's stood down today and 4 A330's due to leave as scheduled in the next year.  Another sign that the airlines think this is going to have an effect well into the medium term.

A sad day for me as an avgeek (more to be honest than I am a railgeek), having flown more longhaul with Virgin than anyone else, and 80-90% of it on the 744's. I know from following the industry and the airline that they were due to go next year (replaced by A350-1000's that are currently being delivered), but to see it happening so suddenly was telling of the current crisis in commercial aviation.

Also telling was the move out of Gatwick, where it all started for them. The bad news just keeps coming for that airport, although I actually don't think BA will surrender it completely - especially, and ironically, now that all those leisure destinations in the Carribean and US have been vacated at that airport by their main competitor.

End of an era, indeed.  Flown on many Virgin Atlantic jumbos, destinations ... Miami, Orlando, Washington, Newark, San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Business, leisure, and very personal and family trips. Can't say I fancy any of those destinations in the foreseeable future, but for the absence of doubt, I can't foresee all that far ahead at present.  That's even though we have family in the USA.

As much travelled that I am I have never flown with Virgin, my most air miles have been with Air New Zealand both International and Internal which was very pleasant and standards equitable to those of Virgin.

I've flown quite a lot with Virgin over the last 25 years, and also been to NZ and back twice (with some internals between the islands) with Air New Zealand, the second trip being RTW when they used to fly from London to Auckland both ways around (stopping at LA westbound and Hong Kong eastbound). Probably they had the best economy class of anyone at the time (late noughties), having sat in it for around 26 hours each way on those trips!

Sadly, ANZ were due to withdraw from the UK in October this year, but have brought that forward and stopped already due to the current situation. The reason they gave for the withdrawal originally was too much competition (from the likes of BA, Virgin, United) on the Heathrow to LA part of the journey. They had already stopped the eastbound route several years earlier, presumably due to competition from the MEB3 (Middle East Big 3) 

I have started a new thread with this post at http://www.passenger.chat/23418 - a far wider subject than just a single airline or single airport.   Thank you MVR S&T for bringing this one to our attention.