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Virgin Airways chief has high praise for Airbus

By David Bowermaster
Seattle Times aerospace reporter

	STUART CLARKE / BLOOMBERG NEWS
	Sir Richard Branson chairman and chief executive of Virgin Group Ltd strikes a pose as he takes delivery of the New Airbus A340-600 at the Farnborough Air Show Monday July 22, 2002.

LONDON — Richard Branson — or, Sir Richard Branson, as he is known to the Brits — is often described as the world's greatest marketer.

The flamboyant chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Airways put his sales skills on prominent display at the Farnborough Air Show yesterday as he celebrated the first delivery of the Airbus A340-600.

Virgin Atlantic is the launch customer for the 380-seat plane, which will become the largest in the Airbus fleet when it enters commercial service later this month.

Virgin's airplane is bedecked in British colors with Union Jacks stylishly painted on the wingtips.

Branson roared into the show — literally — shortly after 9:30 a.m. London time. His new jet broke the morning silence and landed at Farnborough after a brief flight from London's Heathrow Airport, where — of course — another media event was held.

Toby Bright, Boeing's vice president of sales, paused during an interview as the plane began landing and asked a group of reporters, "You think Madonna is on board?"

Apparently, a rumor had swept through the air-show corporate chalets that Branson would be toting the "Material Girl" along to spice things up at Farnborough.

Instead, supermodel Claudia Schiffer was on hand at the Heathrow event. Virgin named the plane "Claudia Nine" after her. Much to the dismay of the aviation media, however, Schiffer did not make the trip to Farnborough.

Branson strolled into a news conference with Airbus executives Noel Forgeard and John Leahy to discuss the merits of his new aircraft.

Throughout the briefing, the sound of popping corks filled the air as assistants poured champagne for the assembled throng.

Branson largely kept his comments confined to praise for Airbus, and he expressed satisfaction that the A340 is a European plane and that "quite a lot of the aircraft" is made in the United Kingdom.

In a prepared statement, Branson also praised the fact that at 247 feet, the A340 is the longest plane in the world: "That's why we couldn't help writing 'mine's bigger than yours' on the side of the plane!"

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