It’s not every day we get a chance to sit down with one of the world’s richest and most industrious men. Actually, Sir Richard is only the 236th richest person in the world according to Forbes. I thought he’d be higher. *shrug* Anyway, we had the esteemed pleasure of taking Sir Richard’s IM interview virginity last week as he was jetting back to his private island, Necker.
CBS’ The Early Show’s Dave Price was also onboard to broadcast weather updates from a Virgin American flight and kept pulling Sir Richard into one segment after another. It got to be really annoying after a while.
Sir Richard: Richard here. This is pretty cool!
CG: Good morning, Sir Richard!
Sir Richard: Communicating with you from 35,000 feet.
CG: That’s exciting.
Sir Richard: Nice to meet you again.
CG: Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to chat with me this morning. First things first. What was with your outfit yesterday at the Boston launch for Virgin America? We’re all dying to know.
Sir Richard: I was invited by Harvard’s Hasty Pudding to appear on their Saturday show. But back on Necker then so decided that the San Francisco flight was the most appropriate place to audition for the next time I’m in town.
CG: Where are you now? Where are you off to?
Sir Richard: seat 1A. About to do a wing walk.
CG: Heh.
Sir Richard: Off to an environmental conference on Necker. Setting up a carbon war room. Strange place to announce that on a plane! Burning up a lot of fuel.
CG: What gadgets are you carrying with you, Sir Richard?
Sir Richard: I’ve got a Virgin Mobile UK phone and a BlackBerry.
CG: So it’s fashion week here in NYC and my better half asked me to ask you this. Would you consider partnering with emerging designers to produce VA uniforms or apparel?
Sir Richard: Funny you should mention that. CBS’ early show is coming back onboard in March and we thought we’d do a fashion show with new uniform ideas and maybe the history of flight uniforms.
CG: Why don’t you consider routes such as Charlotte to Cleveland worthy of VA’s great service?
Sir Richard: sorry — Dave Price is talking to me. I think I have to go — we are about to shoot the next segment.
[That bastard Dave Price.
A few minutes later…]
CG: Speaking of environmental issues. How is the Virgin group adapting to the changing climate? How was the bio-fuel flight? How committed is the Virgin group to green tech or is it all talk? Will your commitment expand to your luxury liners, balloons, etc.?
Sir Richard: We are very committed to cleaning up our dirty fuels business. Thank you for mentioning the bio fuels flight; we are also flying planes made of carbon composite. And we started an investment fund called Virgin Green Fund that invests in clean tech. One of them is Solyndra, which I am sure will be one of the largest solar companies in the US over the next three years
A flight attendant is on my lap right now. We are getting ready to do another segment.
CG: You’re a lucky man.
[A few minutes later…]
CG: Would you mind elaborating a bit further?
Sir Richard: The airlines will continue to do what they can to offset their carbon footprints, make progress in developing alternative fuels, and work with partners that are environmentally responsible. Each of them is committed to contributing all of their profits into clean energy investments. On that front, I already mentioned that Virgin Group has a stake in Virgin Green Fund, which raised funds and is now making investments in clean technology. Again, one of them is a low cost solar panel company called Solyndra, which will be one of the largest solar companies in the US in the next three years. The other area of growth is likely to be the energy storage side – electricity can be sent from California to New York with minimal loss but right now it can’t be efficiently stored for more than a few hours. With innovation on that side, the way we think about energy storage will change significantly.
CG: Will Atlantic implement in-flight wi-fi or cell phone service (like British Airways has done)?
Sir Richard: BA are only doing in-flight wifi for data, not voice, on their yet-to-be launched service from London City Airport. Virgin Atlantic will announce wifi in due course, but we’re not likely to do cell phone service as I don’t think our long-haul flight passengers would appreciate it. Would you?
CG: I’d end up punching them in the face.
Sir Richard: Me too! (JK. That’s just me, Peter, joshing around. Sir Richard didn’t actually say that.)
CG: I know you folks are about to land, so here’s one last question.
CG: How have you revised strategy, particularly Virgin America’s, to accommodate the dismal status of the economy?
Sir Richard: When you offer a better product than your competitors – and at the best price — you’re going to do well, even in a downturn. That said, Virgin America has some key strengths in this climate: a fuel efficient new fleet, a streamlined low cost business structure, and the best and most friendly employees you’ll ever meet. Virgin America is also growing; right now, you don’t want to be worried about shedding 1/3 of a clunky old fleet and network. They’re also continuing to focus on the customer — which is the first thing the other guys start neglecting. People aren’t going to stop flying; they’re going to look for a better value, and that’s what Virgin America does best. Also, Virgin America have got a revenue platform in RED and the GOGO wifi service. Customers are willing to pay more for a good product – they’ve seen this with cocktails, food, and a third of some flights paying for Internet access.
note: Virgin America will be the first domestic airline to offer wifi fleetwide by the second quarter.
CG: Oh, one last question. Can I come visit you on Necker Island? I saw it on Cribs.
*crickets*
This interview seemed very awkward to participate in. But that’s cool. I doubt I’ll ever fly Virgin America..but then again…maybe!
The post heading is incorrect…it should read
“An interview with 3 really hot blondes and 1 brunette”…
http://www.livbit.com
Blackberries truly are for the business elite!!!
I Wonder what he’ll be up to next….
TechFilipino
The chick in the middle is banging!
Yes she is. :D
I’ll “third” that opinion.
Who invited the drag queen on the right of the pic?
Looks like Ryan air chicks ;)
The experience on VA is amazing. I fly every time.
I love Richard Branson. Not only do I think that he’s genius, but he genuinely seems like a down to earth nice guy. Mind you, I have never met him, so that might not be true, but it seems like he is.
I took Virgin America on one of it’s first flights out of Boston. Although a coast-to-coast flight is never a joy, it was a pleasure to fly. Entertainment (RED) was solid and the food was top notch. The turkey/feta wrap tasted like I had gotten it somewhere in the city! Will definitely fly again…as long as the rates remain competitive.
Man, I wish he would have answered the question about flying to Charlotte (where I reside). I’d love to fly it. Damn you Dave Price…. :)
wasted question :(
very cool.
and, yes, the chicks in the pix are smokin’. Lucky indeed.
Interesting to read Branson’s view on energy storage, on green technology, on green energy, … because he’s trying to buy the Honda Formula 1 Team. And F1 is entering the green era …
Richard Branson is a living legend!
If I was to ask one question, albeit a childish one – it would be: Did he ever regret calling his company Virgin?
Nice Chcks
“Did he ever regret calling his company Virgin?”
No way.
Read his autobiography, I lent my copy to a friend but I think it’s called Losing My Virginity or something like that. It’s a very inspiring read!
I was at the Virgin America launch party and it was a lot of fun (Richard thought I was Dita Von Teese which was… awkward and funny). Virgin America is definitely set to do very very well — as Richard says, there’s a true value proposition that always keeps the customer in mind: what a treat. I also highly recommend all three of his books. I’m finishing up “Business Stripped Bare” and it’s a very very pertinent read for anyone really — truly enjoying it and devouring it. I can’t wait to see where else Virgin will go.
First ever twitter – does that make me some kind of virgin?
Thought it very funny that dispite an intersting interview most comments where about the girls…..
…
I just finished reading “Loosing MY Virginity”.
Sir Branson. You are the greatest Entrepreneur ever born! Keep it up!
Oh and btw Good Luck for the bid on Honda F1 team. I’m sure u ll get it.
They should definitely promote the stewardesses in their ads.
they do all there ads are real flight att from the company
Hi Richard, if you are reading through this, the project I lead when I am not at my day job Soeet, needs about 10 million dollars in funding. You can see it by clicking the link on my name.
It has a working demo and aims to be the mobile replacement for LDAP and AD for employee communications and Citrus style deployment.
please get a hold of me at soeet__AT__gmail.com if you would like to invest. I can’t promise a return on investment, but I can promise you a demo so you can see what it’s about.
I only post this because I know that you are investment driven and able to arbitrarily allocate 10M. The project is based in LA, and I currently have a day job as a code monkey.
BTW, I absolutely can’t stand the monarchies of any kind or imperialism. I thought I should disclose that right up front. They make me swell with uncontrollable anger.
LOL, Fail.
was that for real?
Ask Sir Richard, if you still have his address, why Virgin Mobile won’t let me use a desktop application to download my own contacts to my own VM prepaid phone! It’s really a pain – Kyocera makes a (not-so-good) desktop application, but VM makes them block it in the firmware.
First one to guess which breed of dog Branson looks like in this picture wins….
http://www.zrdavis.com
Who’s the chick with the blond hair and the goatie beard?
Who’s the 236th poorest person in the world?
Now this is a man who we should look up to. What will his next challenge be but i bet his company will do well.
I see that, umm, those aren’t your run-of-the-mill stewardesses in the picture there. A bit of pre-qualification for this flight, eh?
you would never find the 236th poorest person because more than that are born everyday.
there are a few companies with the virgin branding that arent actually owned by branson. i recon stewardesses are probably in the same boat :0)
hi sir rishard.
you are an inspiration to many.
i was wondering if you offer scholarship?
thank you and God bless you