Virgin Atlantic Founder Brings 'Entrepreneurial' Airline To Detroit Metro (Video)

By Edward Cardenas

ROMULUS (CBS Detroit) - A new era in air travel took off Thursday with the arrival Virgin Atlantic, Detroit Metropolitan Airport's newest carrier.

The stylish airline founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson arrived at Metro Airport amid great fanfare as employees and passengers lined up along gate windows and on the tarmac to see the arrival of the red and white Boeing 787-9 named "Dream Jeannie" from London Heathrow.

Shortly after arriving at the gate, a stream of nattily dressed flight attendants preceded Sir Richard down the steps from plane to a group of waiting media on the tarmac - wearing a Detroit Hustles Harder shirt.

After greeting local dignitaries, and going through customs, he held a press conference where he professed his admiration for the city and its entrepreneurial spirit.

"This city is beginning to boom again," said Branson, who will be attending a pitch competition Friday to hear from local start-ups. "We are an entrepreneurial airline, we are an entrepreneurial company, and we hope to play our part in really helping the mayor make this city absolutely great again. It's seems to be well on the way."

Branson himself knows quite a bit about building a business. He has founded over 400 business in his career, including Virgin Atlantic nearly 30 years ago.

When he started Virgin nearly 30 years ago, it was with a second-hand Boeing 747 and has grown to serve locations around the world. The airline will also be purchasing 18 new 787 airplanes in the coming months.

The service between Detroit and London - which is flown with one of the new, environmentally-friendly aircraft - launched June 1 by Virgin. It is the only British airline to fly direct, daily flights between the two cities.

Virgin joins with its partner Delta Air Lines to fly nearly 155,000 passengers between Metro and Heathrow, who could then connect from Detroit to Delta's other connections through

"We think this really is an important new piece of our network," said Craig Kreeger, CEO Virgin Airways.

The arrival of Virgin Atlantic is third new carrier to recently begin offering service from Metro, and the fifth carrier to offer non-stop, trans-Atlantic service from the airport.

"The (Wayne County Airport Authority) is on a bit of a winning streak," said Thomas Naughton, CEO Wayne County Airport Authority.

For Mayor Mike Duggan, the arrival of Virgin helps bring his career full-circle. Nearly 20 years ago, he was negotiating as a deputy county executive with Delta to build the McNamara Terminal.

Now he is welcoming international travelers to the city by touting Detroit, a city where world travelers would find in the midst of a comeback.

"For anybody in this world that has a soft spot for the underdog, this is a place that will warm your heart,"said Duggan, who touted the city's diverse art and cultural scene, high occupancy and people moving into the city. "If you like a comeback story, it is a lot of fun to walk the streets of Detroit today."

In addition to promoting Virgin's new service, Branson was asked if there were any plans to bring a Virgin Hotel to Detroit..

"We would love it if we could find the right site for a Virgin Hotel in Detroit," said Branson.

To which Duggan told Branson, "We'll talk soon." Evans than chimed in with "I've got an existing jail site that might just work," which drew a room full of laughter.

Up and coming business in metro Detroit will get an opportunity Friday to pitch to billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

Sir Richard, who is in the metro Detroit to commemorate the start of service by his Virgin Atlantic airline between London and Detroit, will headline a panel of business leaders at the Ain't too Proud to Pitch event Friday at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.