Nothing personal says Virgin Air By JUHEL BROWNE T'dad Guardian 11.14.02 Virgin Atlantic Airways saw nothing wrong with press ads of its London fares which used a changed version of the BWIA name. "It was not a personal attack on BWIA," said Virgin's regional manager for the Caribbean, Judith Wilcox, Tuesday afternoon. "It was very tongue-in-cheek. It served its purpose. We won't be running that (ad) again." Wilcox called the Guardian from Virgin's Barbados office and explained why the ads were initiated. On Tuesday, the Guardian exclusively reported BWIA filed a letter of complaint about the Virgin ad to the Advertising Standards Authority. The advertisement, which appeared in three daily newspapers, changed the "W" in the acronym BWIA to a V, and had a slogan below which read "Better Virgin. It's Available." Wilcox said Virgin, an 18-year-old carrier which is based in the UK, is yet to receive any correspondence from the ASA. She explained the Virgin campaign was in keeping with the airline's normal marketing tactics. "We are known for our topical approach to marketing and felt sure the famous Trini sense of humour would appreciate the style and wit. Judging from reactions, we have been proved right," she said. Since the ads ran last weekend, Wilcox noted, Virgin has seen an increase in calls from Trinidad and Tobago from passengers seeking to make a bookings to London. Virgin asserted while it was sympathetic to BWIA's plight it felt the public should be made aware of the choices available to them on the London route. Virgin has been operating in the Caribbean for the past four years. On Monday, BWIA said its fares to London were cheaper. It also noted BWIA flights go directly from Trinidad to London. Wilcox said BWIA and Virgin's London fares "match effectively." She noted Virgin has interline arrangements with Liat and Caribbean Star which would allow passengers from Trinidad to fly to Barbados and then on to London. "Quite often its cheaper for the consumer to buy a Liat or Caribbean Star fare and a sale fare from Virgin," Wilcox said. "It depends on the fare at the time." Virgin is now awaiting Government approval to begin operating flights direct from Tobago to London with a stopover in Grenada from May 2003. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (chgdev) http://www.chagdev.com/ (Chaguaramas Development Authority) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************