NEWS SPECIAL REPORT


Sir Richard Branson and colleagues celebrate landing in Toronto after Virgin


Atlantic’s inaugural flight from Heathrow last week PICTURE: Virgin Atlantic


Virgin targets ‘modest growth’ £3.3bn


T


In-profit carrier outlines goals as it launches Canada route. Lucy Huxley reports from Toronto But it is a different story stateside.


he chief commercial officer of Virgin Atlantic hopes competitors will “start taking us more seriously


now” after the airline posted its first profits since the pandemic. The airline reported profit


before tax and exceptional items of £20 million as revenues rose by £183 million to a record £3.3 billion for the 2024 calendar year. Commenting on the airline’s


7% operating Ebit (earnings before interest and taxes) margin, Juha Jarvinen said: “This compares very


Virgin Atlantic’s record revenue for 2024


well with other airlines. If you look at other players’ 2024 performance, this puts us in the middle in terms of rankings. We have a better operating Ebit than easyJet, which is an important message.” He acknowledged financial results “mattered less to the end customer”


but said trade partners, TMCs and corporates “certainly pay attention”. “The competition will hopefully


take us a bit more seriously now,” he said, adding: “This gives us a great platform to generate more profit.”


Passenger demand Jarvinen predicted this year would be “challenging” but added the UK market was holding up well. “In fact, it’s pretty buoyant, as the


pound has strengthened,” he said. “We’ve not seen any impact on


UK demand yet.” Branson rues US shift away from focus on SAF


Virgin Atlantic founder Sir Richard Branson (pictured) says the aviation industry’s challenge to obtain enough sustainable aviation fuel has been “made tougher by what’s happened in the US”. Speaking at Toronto Pearson International


airport as the carrier resumed flying to Canada for the first time since 2014, Branson said the airline’s SAF-powered flight from London to New York in November 2023 “proved it can be done”. But he added: “It’s not easy. Getting the quantities


of SAF that we need is tough – and we’re challenging the industry to get enough SAF so that all our planes


10


can fly on it. Obviously, what’s happened in America is going to make it tougher. The world was moving towards a place where it was a priority. Now, for one side at least, it’s not high on the agenda.” Asked how President Trump’s announcement


of sweeping tariffs might affect the Virgin Group, Branson said: “All I can say is that between Canada and Britain, there are no tariffs that I am aware of. “I can’t see any tariffs existing between our two


countries and I hope we can become even closer than we have been over the last 50 years.”


Noting that “US demand is softening”, he said: “The US market is hesitant, particularly in Economy [class], less so in Premium and Upper. We are hopeful [customers] will make the bookings, but there’s a lot of uncertainty at the moment.” He said Virgin Atlantic would


continue to grow but added: “We are looking for a modest growth rate. We will continue to improve the product.” Asked if that could mean new


routes, he said it was a possibility, as were service improvements. Jarvinen was speaking to Travel


Weekly in Toronto following the airline’s inaugural flight to Toronto Pearson International from Heathrow. The daily route, operated by a


Boeing 787-9, marks a return to Canada for Virgin Atlantic after more than a decade away. Nicki Goldsmith, director of


global agency sales, said: “We’re really excited about it [the route]. “Flying out of Heathrow is key for


us because we get a lot of flow traffic from our rest-of-world destinations. “That makes it very important for


the business sector, but Toronto is amazing for leisure travellers too.”


10 APRIL 2025 travelweekly.co.uk


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