Virgin Atlantic is hoping to buy 12 slot pairs at London Heathrow Airport that rival British Airways is being forced to sell due to its merger with bmi.
Virgin wants to use the slots to begin short-haul flights to Scotland.
Julie Southern, chief commercial officer of the airline, confirmed in a recent interview that Virgin will bid for all the slots, adding: “We are puzzled as to why the slots are in two groups. It would be sub-optimal for anyone to operate (only some of the slots). We feel all 12 should stay together.”
Virgin Atlantic also intends to use the slots for new services to Cairo, Riyadh, Nice and Moscow.