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June Monthly Few Meeting (This month’s theme is Travel)

Topic:

Virgin Atlantic: 25 Years and ‘Still Red Hot’

Speaker:

Paul Sands, General Manager, Virgin Atlantic Japan

As a company Virgin Atlantic is celebrating its first quarter century this year, and also a ‘coming of age’ in Japan as the Tokyo-London route has been operating for exactly 20 years. Since first taking to the skies in 1984, the airline has established a reputation for innovation and bringing a fresh approach to air travel, sweeping the board with travel industry awards along the way. Paul Sands will talk us through the company’s rapid growth, and examine some of the ways in which the airline has maintained its original ‘challenger brand’ attitude and values, despite becoming a major player. Paul will also discuss some of the current hot topics in aviation today, both in Japan and globally, and explain how the airline has stayed ‘red hot’.

The presentation will include a case study of the biofuel demonstration, which took place in February 2008, when Virgin Atlantic became the first commercial airline ever to fly a plane using a biofuel blend, and the subsequent activity this has stimulated.

Speaker
Since September 2006, Paul Sands has been General Manager for Virgin Atlantic in Japan, and is responsible for all aspects of the airline’s operations in this market. Prior to this, he was a Senior Product Manager, based in the UK, in charge of the Upper Class (Business Class) Cabin. During this time he presided over the launch of the award-winning Upper Class Suite and the groundbreaking Heathrow Clubhouse, plus a host of other innovations around the globe.
He has also worked with Virgin Nigeria Airlines based in Lagos, Priceline.com based in Hong Kong, and the Council on International Educational Exchange based in London and Tokyo.

His first visit to Japan was in 1992 when he was an English Teacher on the JET Program, based in Yokohama. Since then he has lived in Japan for eight years and is a fluent Japanese speaker.

He grew up in Berkshire in England, and graduated from York University with a degree in English Literature. He also has an MBA with Distinction from Durham University, and is currently working on a part-time PhD with the Centre for Air Transport and the Environment at Manchester Metropolitan University.