Virgin spreads wings in South Africa

Virgin spreads wings in South Africa    Virgin Atlantic Cargo has decided to bring its sales in-house in South Africa, following the recent launch of its new twice-weekly flight from Johannesburg to Melbourne and high customer demand for capacity on Virgin's daily services between Johannesburg and London.
   The airline said it also made the move in anticipation of seasonal operations between Cape Town and London Heathrow Airport on Oct. 31.
   Since 1996, general sales agent ACP Worldwide has represented the airline in South Africa. However, the airline has employed its own operations team in Johannesburg to ensure service consistency and focus on safety and security.
   Laurn Baldwin has been appointed Virgin's regional sales manager in South Africa, based in Johannesburg. She has worked for Aireps, representing Gulf Air, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Balkan Airlines, Air Namibia and Aero Zambia. She spent five years with ACP Worldwide, working on the Virgin account, before moving to Expeditors International in 2003 as a corporate account manager.