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LONDON (Reuters) Virgin Group founder Richard Branson plans business class-only flights with a fleet of up to 15 new planes, in a move which could spell trouble for upstart rivals in the competitive transatlantic market.

“In the next 12 to 18 months we will start a business-only airline,” a Virgin spokesman said on Monday. “We’ll serve New York initially and then other U.S. cities.”

Newly created Eos, MAXjet and Silverjet all use business-class-only aircraft and offer competitive fares in the lucrative business-class market linking London to the United States.

But heavyweights Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are looking to fight back, spurred by an Open Skies pact between Europe and the United States which is to come into effect on March 30, 2008, and threatens to bring more competition to their London home market.

Virgin plans flights to New York from Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan and Zurich, as well as from London, though Virgin is staying mum about which London airport it will use.

Frequent flyer programmes and the ability to tap into U.S. domestic flights operated by Virgin America due to begin next month would be advantages over small, upstart carriers, the Virgin spokesman said, adding the new Virgin airline would aim to meet or beat rival fares.

British Airways, which makes the bulk of its profits on business flights across the Atlantic, is also studying the idea of business-only services.

Virgin will look at acquiring up to 15 planes worth $700 million at list prices, the spokesman said.

“We may use some of the (Boeing) 787s we ordered recently,” he said, but added the airline was speaking to all four airliner makers Д Boeing, Airbus, Embraer and Bombardier.

Packing is undoubtedly an art form. Most of us start out believing the premise that less is more, but many fail to achieve this. Clearly experience helps. Deciding what to take on a trip can cause agonies of indecision for the infrequent traveller. But for those who journey often it is second nature. They know down to the last pair of socks what works for them.

Richard Piercy, Vice President Technology for EMI, says his approach is a bit like “Maslow’s hierarchy of needs”. According to this theory once basic needs such as the provision of food and water are met, humans will then go on to strive to fulfil higher needs such as friendship and self-esteem. The hierarchy is set out in a pyramid with the fundamentals at the bottom. When it comes to what to take when travelling Piercy says his most fundamental need is his music equipment: an iPod and portable speakers go everywhere, he would never leave home without them. Next on his pyramid is Marmite: a pot of the product accompanies him all round the world which, he claims, is not an unusual item to pack: “You find a phenomenal number of people travel with Marmite - you see them all getting their pots out at breakfast.” Fulfilling a need for entertainment in his hotel room he has recently added an Archos video player to his luggage (it’s like an iPod but designed for video). This can be plugged into a TV allowing you to watch your own personal collection of videos, and Piercy has around 40 to 50 on his to choose from. And finally, at the top of his pyramid come his numerous chargers and leads packed into a rucksack and taken as hand luggage: “the charger for my mobile, the charger for my Blackberry, the charger for my laptop, a charger for my Archos and if I go to the States I need a 110 volt adapter - the list goes on. I never lack for a lead or an adapter, I’m a bit like a travelling Dixon’s.”

Travelling slightly technologically lighter is Scott Thomson, managing director of BrandHandling, a brand creation and management company. He takes a mixture of old and new technology on his travels: “I always take my iPod to avoid having to talk to the people who sit next to you on planes and who want to chat to you. My Blackberry is also very useful so I can scan my contacts file looking for someone interesting to call when I need to kill a few hours on a stop over.” However Scott has not given up on that 20th-century favourite: the travel alarm clock. “I take my Braun travel clock, it’s not digital, it’s easy to set and it’s obvious when it’s going to go off. Most importantly, it doesn’t run out of battery in the middle of the night like your phone will do and you don’t have to depend on the unreliability of hotel switchboards for wake up calls.” Scott also never leaves home without photographs of his wife and two daughters “to remind me what I’m missing and why I am doing three countries in four days instead of making it a longer trip.”

An essential on long-haul flights for management consultant John Erik Ellingsen is his laptop. He uses his Blackberry to deal with all incoming e-mails while he’s away - but by taking his laptop he can clear a huge back log of essential admin. “The battery for my lap top lasts four hours, this gives me a great opportunity to file the 2,000 or so e-mails that have been sitting in by in box for weeks. It’s great - you sit there uninterrupted, high in the sky, getting on with things you don’t normally get time to do.”

One thing publishing executive Ian Bartley would wish never leave home without is a collapsible trouser press. Although he thinks this has yet to be invented, Bartley says such a device would really help him with his travels and his fundamental need for well-ironed clothes. The thought of a travel iron does not appeal though: “I could never bring myself to take a travel iron: it’s the desperately sad image it paints of a lonely business person trying to find a suitable surface on which to iron when: a) one should be out having fun and b) the hotel should be able to do it and if they can’t, you’re in the wrong kind of hotel.”

Half-term is drawing to a close, and my kids can look back on the week with a real sense of achievement. I don’t like to boast, but they’ve had some pretty action-packed adventures in the past few days: motorcycle racing, snowboarding, skiing and white water rafting down giant waterfalls to name but a few.

They have spent hours navigating mazes and mountains, jumped aboard pirate ships, hunted, gathered and fished in implausibly blue waters and even designed their own igloos. And it has not cost me a penny, because they’ve managed to do it all without leaving the house. Yes, my little darlings have spent most of their school break on a virtual holiday. There’s no better way to beat the February half-term blues than by giving the kids a few hours in cyberspace - it’s amazing where a screen and a mouse can take you.

But in the interests of stopping their limbs from seizing up, I’m trying to be a responsible parent and show my kids that surfing is not just something you do on the net. I am trying to convince them that humans, just like Nintendos, need to recharge their batteries.

Which is why I’m so relieved that I can turn to holiday companies such as Outdoor Adventures (01288 362900; outdooradventure.co.uk), whose Cornish haven is the perfect place to head for when in need of a screen break. This small, family-based operation, on the rugged north coast, offers some marvellous activity holidays for families, with everything from surfing and body boarding classes to abseiling lessons - there is so much to pack in that your kids won’t even notice the lack of portable PlayStations.

You stay in family rooms on site or in nearby hotels, but, for a real thrill, you can opt to sleep in a teepee on the ocean’s edge and wake to the roar of the waves.

If you’d rather take the kids abroad for their piece of the action, why not consider upping sticks to Umbria for a riding holiday? Stay in La Casella, a renovated farmhouse, with Real Holidays (020-7359 3938; realholidays.co.uk) and you’ll find an equestrian centre on site as well as a kids-only pony club for those under 10. Go hacking in the glorious countryside, take night rides under the stars, and then relax together for an al fresco candelit dinner. Young (and old) bucks can also enjoy climbing, river canoeing, abseiling and archery as well as mountain biking, swimming and tennis.

If you are after something a little less taxing, how about a golf and fishing break in Scotland? The Roxburghe Hotel and Golf Course (01573 459331; roxburghe.net) near Kelso in the Scottish Borders is known for its championship golf course, where youngsters can get professional tuition. The fishing facilities, too, have families flocking here: Roxburghe’s trout fishery actively promotes fly fishing to children, and private tuition is offered to all guests, whatever their age, for a small charge. There’s also clay pigeon shooting, archery and falconry. With any luck my kids might even discover that the real world is as interesting as the digital one.

Katy’s top tip

Sailors of all sizes should check out Sunsail (02392 222222; sunsail.com). It offers daily sessions for children aged five and over, as well as lots of activities on and off the water. A new kids’ club has just opened at Club Marverde in Turkey.