Story ID: 
Virgin Charter Shuts Down
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Online charter broker Virgin Charter stopped “active operations” on October 23, according to a company statement.
Word Count: 98
Online charter broker Virgin Charter stopped “active operations” on October 23, according to a company statement. “With the severe decline in corporate travel, Virgin Charter was unable to generate sufficient sales to underpin its business plan and has taken the difficult decision to close its doors.” Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin USA launched Virgin Charter in mid-2007, with a focus on allowing charter users to make all arrangements via Virgin’s Web site. Virgin charged charter operators a fee based on percentage of sales to participate, but the buyer of the flight did not pay to use Virgin Charter.