I presume it's OK to post it in it's entirety?
Dear Edward,
What a topsy turvy year 2010 has been for the airline industry.
In my ten years running Virgin Atlantic I've rarely seen such a series of disruptions to our operations and such sterling efforts from all our teams to deal with them. Notwithstanding the substantial goodwill and support of our customers.
Last Spring we experienced Volcanic Ash clouds in the airways above us, and then the harsh European Winter brought mountains of snow to challenge us further.
At the start of 2011 I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you, our valued Flying Club members for your patience and understanding during these disruptions, I know it has been very frustrating for those of you caught up in them.
Looking back, we also experienced some great positives; such as the launch of our new aircraft livery and the development of our latest TV advertising campaign. Last May we expanded our route network to another African destination, Accra which is an important business hub for Ghana. We also celebrated 10 years of flying direct to Las Vegas. And we're delighted to launch direct flights from Manchester to this great destination in April 2011.
Another superb development to look forward to is the addition to our fleet of the A330-300 aircraft. These twin engine aircraft will showcase new products and deliver great efficiency gains that will help us reach our sustainability targets. Again we continue to fly one of the youngest fleets in the air.
We'll also be developing our charity relationship with Free the Children, an extraordinary organisation helping children in Virgin Atlantic destinations such as Africa and India. We'll be calling on our Flying Club members to get involved, so watch out for more information on this soon.
I'm sure 2011 will throw up a few surprises, however I'd like to thank you again for your continued support and we hope to see you onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight again soon.
Best regards,
Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic.
Dear Edward,
What a topsy turvy year 2010 has been for the airline industry.
In my ten years running Virgin Atlantic I've rarely seen such a series of disruptions to our operations and such sterling efforts from all our teams to deal with them. Notwithstanding the substantial goodwill and support of our customers.
Last Spring we experienced Volcanic Ash clouds in the airways above us, and then the harsh European Winter brought mountains of snow to challenge us further.
At the start of 2011 I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you, our valued Flying Club members for your patience and understanding during these disruptions, I know it has been very frustrating for those of you caught up in them.
Looking back, we also experienced some great positives; such as the launch of our new aircraft livery and the development of our latest TV advertising campaign. Last May we expanded our route network to another African destination, Accra which is an important business hub for Ghana. We also celebrated 10 years of flying direct to Las Vegas. And we're delighted to launch direct flights from Manchester to this great destination in April 2011.
Another superb development to look forward to is the addition to our fleet of the A330-300 aircraft. These twin engine aircraft will showcase new products and deliver great efficiency gains that will help us reach our sustainability targets. Again we continue to fly one of the youngest fleets in the air.
We'll also be developing our charity relationship with Free the Children, an extraordinary organisation helping children in Virgin Atlantic destinations such as Africa and India. We'll be calling on our Flying Club members to get involved, so watch out for more information on this soon.
I'm sure 2011 will throw up a few surprises, however I'd like to thank you again for your continued support and we hope to see you onboard a Virgin Atlantic flight again soon.
Best regards,
Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic.
Move to the red side...
) 
