Virgin Atlantic, a British airline headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, was founded in 1984. Initially named British Atlantic Airways, the airline aimed to fly between London and the Falkland Islands. However, it soon changed its name to Virgin Atlantic Airways and began operations on June 22, 1984, having completed the first flight from London Gatwick to Newark. Virgin Atlantic Airways operates flights to North America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia from its main hub at London Heathrow and its secondary hub at Manchester. The airline joined the SkyTeam airline alliance in March 2023. Virgin Atlantic operates a mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing wide-body aircraft. The airline took delivery of the first Airbus A350−1000 in August 2019, and it currently operates 12 such aircraft.