“We started Virgin Atlantic against everybody's advice. Nobody in their right mind would ever start an airline to make money. We began with one secondhand 747 against British Airways's 300 planes, TWA's 250 planes, Pan Am's 250 planes—on paper, it made no sense. But my attitude in life is that if you can create something that's better than what everybody else is doing, then you have a chance of surviving—and that if you don't try, you're definitely not going to succeed. Our inaugural flight from Gatwick to Newark took place on June 22, 1984. It was a beautiful day, pristine. I was sitting with my wife, Joan, and my two-year-old daughter, Holly, on my lap. I'd also invited some friends to test out the flight, including the Israeli British illusionist Uri Geller—I remember him going into the cockpit and breaking a spoon in two, and trying to keep him away from the flight-deck controls. There was the TV host David Frost, and Phil Collins and Mike Oldfield of Tubular Bells fame on board. This wonderful lady, Elizabeth Emanuel, who had done Princess Diana's wedding dress, put together the uniforms for our cabin crew, and she was there too.
Everybody was out of their seats the whole way, and I think we hit a Guinness World Record for the most Champagne drunk. When we landed, I remember looking around the cabin and seeing enormous happiness on all of the staff's and passengers' faces. The seatback videos for entertainment—which we were the first to have—came a little bit later; but I think having an area for our business-class passengers to go for a drink and to talk to each other is something that's been unique to Virgin all these 38 years, and it's an incredible innovation that's stuck around with time. I've met lots of interesting people and had lots of great ideas at 35,000 feet while at the Virgin bar.” —As told to Betsy Blumenthal
Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group. As you read this, he is likely doing laps around the track on board Virgin Voyages' Scarlet Lady.
This article appeared in the September/October 2022 issue of Condé Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here.
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