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SCMP Reporter

WHEN the first Virgin Atlantic flight touches down at Kai Tak - probably next year - the plane will be not so much an Airbus as a flying casino.

  Each of the 280 passengers will get a chance to have a flutter on the airline's state-of-the-art gambling screens.

  Punters in all classes of the A340 aircraft will be able to play poker and roulette for substantial financial prizes on personal inter-active screens.

  Gamblers will start play by simply swiping a credit card through their screen and entering their PIN - winnings and losses will be credited to or debited from their account.

  Children can try their skills at Nintendo - at no charge - and anyone worried about not getting a proper return for their money can shop on-screen for either luxury mail order items or duty free goods.

  Virgin's plans to provide the next generation of in-flight entertainment are likely to revolutionise the way airlines treat passengers once they are in the air.

  Passengers were formerly seen as an airborne creche whose occupants needed to be diverted with films and regular feeds.

   But Virgin is the first to capitalise on the potential of a captive audience ready and willing to while the flight time away on games of chance or simply armchair shopping.

  And as gambling and browsing among highly priced merchandise are two of Hong Kong's favourite occupations, Virgin seems to have its bets well covered.

  Virgin public relations spokesman James Murray speaks of the innovations with some pride, but hastens to dispel notions of passengers arriving as penniless refugees after a bad run against the computer.

  ''We are looking at building in safeguards so that there will be an upper limit on how much can be won or lost,'' he said. ''This is not going to be a gambling palace in the sky.''   While nobody is going to end up winning the plane, there is no denying that the chance to pay off a substantial amount of the journey cost will be an added incentive to both Hongkongers and mainland Chinese.

  One public relations executive for a rival airline could not resist blurting out ''My God! What a brilliant idea'' when he first heard of the scheme. He recovered and withdrew the remark immediately, but his response was indicative of the potential draw Virgin could exert.

  Mr Murray said: ''An American company, Hughes Avieson, is currently working on the software for both the gambling and the shopping programmes.''   Mr Murray would not state the exact amount that passengers would be permitted to win or lose, but said it was ''one of the things being looked at.''   Other concerns are likely to include guarding against the use of a string of credit cards bearing the same name but issued by different companies.

   And long odds - causing disillusionment and bad publicity - could have just as detrimental an effect as ones which allow passengers to hit the jackpot too often.

  Mr Murray added that the screens - which will also feature 16 entertainment channels - were being introduced throughout the entire fleet and not just on the prospective Hong Kong flight.

  Nevertheless, ''decks and shopping'' should prove to be a trump card in the battle for ''bums-on-seats'' once Virgin has got the landing slots it requires.

  And the impending arrival of multi-millionaire Richard Branson's award-winning airline in Hong Kong - which he sees as the economic key point to his expansion into the Far East - has already got the competition looking to its laurels.

  Virgin has already crossed swords with Cathay Pacific in a tussle for better slots - programming which as the Hong Kong national carrier, Cathay largely controls.

  And British Airways - the other non-stop carrier between Kai Tak and Heathrow - is still smarting after Virgin emerged triumphant from a court battle in which BA's untoward business practices were exposed.

  Mr Murray declined to comment on other airlines' attitudes towards Virgin, nor would he say what had been offered to date.

  But Virgin, which wants to run a daily service with its newest A340 to be delivered next month - is currently understood to have been offered a 9 pm take-off from Hong Kong which would mean landing in England in the early hours of the morning.

  Kai Tak is said to be saturated with arrivals and departures from dawn to dusk and fitting in new schedules requires tricky negotiation hemmed in by considerations of safety and inter-airline rivalry.

  But top executives at Virgin are worried that arriving in the wee hours will not attract passengers in sufficient volume and that their airline will be sidelined as second or third best.

  Negotiations, under the auspices of the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, are continuing with some heat on both sides.

  Cathay Pacific public relations manager Phil Burford said: ''If an airline held a slot previously, then it has first rights on retaining it. British Airways and Cathay are maintaining their on-going schedules but there is some movement among the other carriers.

  ''Virgin has had these slots for about four years and has only now just picked up the options. But the Slot Co-ordination Committee is trying to work out the best allocation.''   Mr Burford maintained that Cathay was not unduly worried about the prospect of Virgin as a rival.

  ''We are not trying to keep Virgin out of Hong Kong,'' he said. ''We have always said we welcome the competition. But Virgin will just be one of 20 airlines flying to London.''   Mr Burford said Cathay was not perturbed about Virgin's new in-flight entertainment programme either.

  ''If that's the way they want to do business, then that's the way they want to do business,'' he said.

  ''Each airline has its own style and Cathay has been very successful for a long time. We have lots of things in the pipeline - Virgin is not the only one looking at new in-flight entertainment. Indeed, some might say they are behind the pace.''   Virgin is determined to elbow its way to the front of the pack in Hong Kong. Whether it achieves this or not remains to be seen, but in-flight entertainment will never be the same again. You can bet on it.



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