Virgin Atlantic launches Ghana service

....and claims boost from BA strike

Virgin Atlantic launched its new service between Ghana and London on Monday, and Sir Richard Branson predicted it would carry more than 60,000 passengers in its first year.

The inaugural flight took off just a week after the Ghana Airways, the west African country’s national carrier went bankrupt, leaving Virgin in a straight fight with BA for direct services between London and the capital Accra.

Accra is the airline’s fifth African destination, after Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa, Lagos in Nigeria, and Nairobi in Kenya.

Virgin Atlantic will operate three services a week to Accra from London Heathrow, using an Airbus A340-300 with 240 seats onboard – 34 upper class, 35 premium economy and 171 economy.

Speaking onboard the flight, Branson said the new route was a realisation of a promise he had vowed to himself, after visiting the country several years ago.

“I came here before, and I said I wouldn’t come back until I came back on my own plane,” he said. “When I came before, it was controlled by the military, and Virgin never flies anywhere that is run by the military. So we waited for that to end, and Ghana has now benefited from the wonderful thing that is democracy.”

Branson said BA was "shooting itself in the foot" throgh the latest cabin crew strike, which started the day the Ghana service was launched. He claimed Virgin had seen a 10% increase in Upper Class passengers since the first strikes started in March

He was greeted in Accra by over a hundred local Ghanaians, who welcomed the Virgin president with bouquets of flowers and tribal dances as he stepped off the plane.

Branson added: “Ghana has one of West Africa’s most vibrant and diverse economies and Virgin Atlantic’s flights will help further Ghana’s leading position within West Africa by making it more accessible to business and leisure passengers alike.

“Our new services will bring much needed competition onto the route, increasing seat availability by 35% and breaking the near monopoly BA has enjoyed for many years.”

Ghanaian transport minister Mike Hammah said: “The commencement of operations into Ghana by Virgin Atlantic marks a significant milestone in the annals of the air travel industry in our country.