1 day Ago By Jake Hardiman
The onset of coronavirus had huge implications for airlines around the world, as the sudden and sharp drop in passenger demand hit carriers' finances hard. While the commercial aviation industry has been in a state of stability and even growth in recent years following life's return to post-pandemic normality, it has taken airlines a little while to catch up to where they were financially before the health crisis hit. Still, Virgin Atlantic has turned a major corner with its first post-COVID profit.
Back in the big-time As reported earlier today in a statement published by the British airline, Virgin Atlantic's post-pandemic return to profitability saw it generate a Profit Before Tax and Exceptional Items of £20 million ($25.9 million) for the full-year period ending on December 31st, 2024. According to the carrier, a key catalyst on this front was a £183 million increase in revenue, which rose to a record annual total of some £3.
3 billion in 2024. Commenting on the results, Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss stated: "Our performance in 2024 marked a big step forward in our mission to become the most loved travel company and sustainably profitable , with record revenues and operating profit achieved in our fortieth year. We returned to profitability for the first time since the pandemic, repaid a large chunk of debt, and faced operational challenges by taking decisive action.
" Check out all the latest European aviation news here! Frequent flyers will now be able to book any seat with points, earn more on premium tickets, and use upgrade or companion vouchers on any seat. Virgin Atlantic also highlighted the fact that its passenger capacity grew by 7.6% in 2024, with " continued demand for business and premium leisure travel .
" This is something that the carrier has responded to by launching " Unlimited Availability reward seats for members of the Flying Club ," as covered by Simple Flying as part of a wider look at its changes to its loyalty program back in September of 2024. Facts and figures 2024 was a busy calendar year for Virgin Atlantic, with the airline carrying 5.6 million passengers onboard its long-haul flights to and from the United Kingdom.
When offset against its total passenger capacity in terms of seat availability for the period, this generated an average load factor of 77.3% at Virgin Atlantic in 2024. Oli Byers, who serves as the Chief Financial Officer at Virgin Atlantic, explained that: "2024's financial results reflect a second consecutive year of our teams delivering record revenues coupled with sustained cost discipline.
Reporting a record Earnings Before Tax and Interest (EBIT) performance and return to profitability in our fortieth year is a testament to the enduring commitment of Virgin Atlantic’s people. Alongside the operating results, we continued to repay large parts of our pandemic debt. Our achievements go a long way toward building a stronger and more secure future for Virgin Atlantic.
" Diving into the key facts and figures surrounding Virgin's performance in 2024, we can see that the carrier has enhanced its fleet utilization. Indeed, it managed to operate more flights in 2024 than in 2023 (24,832 vs 23,551) despite having fewer aircraft at its disposal (43 vs 45). One of the major operational challenges that Virgin has faced on this front is the reduced availability of Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, although it still achieved a flight completion factor of 98.
6%. Reasons to be cheerful in 2025 Virgin will be hoping to capitalize on its strong financial and operational performance in 2024 with similar (or even better) results in 2025. Even in the first few months of the year, the carrier has had plenty of reasons to be cheerful, with a recent milestone being the opening of a new Clubhouse lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which the carrier serves thrice daily from London.
Furthermore, the start of the IATA summer season has seen Virgin commence operations on two new long-haul routes from its base at London Heathrow Airport (LHR). Indeed, according to Aviation A2Z , yesterday saw the SkyTeam carrier begin flying from the West London facility to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in Canada and King Khalid International (RUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia..
