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Virgin targets growth in Middle East

(30 March 2006)

Virgin Atlantic's first Middle Eastern route between Heathrow and Dubai will spearhead a bid to grab a 10% slice of the market.

Virgin launched a four-times-weekly service on Tuesday, using Airbus A340-300s. These will be replaced by larger Airbus A340-600s on June 1 when the service goes daily.

Virgin Atlantic chairman Sir Richard Branson said this deployment will help the airline muscle in on the growing market, which now supports 10 flights a day between Heathrow and Dubai.

He said: "Dubai is a key business and leisure destination for Virgin Atlantic as it is the second biggest long-haul route out of London, while London is the most popular long haul-route out of the United Arab Emirates."

Sir Richard said Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Lebanon could be the next Virgin destinations, while a Manchester-Dubai route may also be on the cards.

Virgin Atlantic chief executive Steve Ridgway said the new route would have been introduced regardless of the extension of Dubai International Airport, which will increase annual capacity to 70 million by 2010.

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by Edward Robertson (About this Author)

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