Virgin Atlantic celebrates post-pandemic profitability
March 31, 2025
Virgin Atlantic has returned to profitability for the first time since 2019, the airline has revealed in its newly-published 2024 results, reporting a pre-tax annual profit of £20 million.
“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,” commented Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss, who attributed this success to the airline’s “decisive action”.
2024 passenger revenue reached £2.6 billion, a record high for the carrier and marking a £179 million increase 2023. A record £1 billion of this revenue originated from the US, helped in part by the success of Virgin Atlantic Holidays, which regained its number one position in Florida and reported year-on-year growth of 10% in revenue.
Overall, Virgin Atlantic Holidays was responsible for a total of £517 million in revenue, up from £468 million in 2023. For 2025, the airline plans to open a new clubhouse in Los Angeles as well as new routes to Toronto, with other international destinations set to include Riyadh and Cancun.
Virgin Atlantic carried 5.6 million passengers in 2024 with a load factor of 77.3%, who also benefitted from Virgin Atlantic’s status as the most punctual airline in the UK. Despite operational challenges resulting from reduced availability of Rolls Royce Trent 100 engines, a completion factor of 98.6% was achieved.
2024’s higher overall revenue was in line with increased available seat kilometres (7.6% up compared to 2023), with 24,832 sectors flown also higher than 2019’s 23,551. Noting that “2024 was a turning point for Virgin Atlantic and the culmination of [its] transformation,” Weiss concluded that he expects 2025 to represent “greater stability for [the airline’s] operation”.
Chief financial officer Oli Byers’ suggestion of “sustained cost discipline” exhibited throughout 2024 resulted in total airline non-fuel costs of £2 billion and non-fuel costs per available seat kilometres of under £4, in line with 2023 and 16 points below 2019. The airline also continued to repay “large parts” of its pandemic-related debt, he revealed, including paying down £174 million in 2024.
Virgin Atlantic ended the year with a total cash position of £443 million, with its four-year strategic path to profitability (‘dubbed ‘Velocity’) set to end in December 2025. “Our achievements go a long way towards building a stronger and more secure future for Virgin Atlantic,” concluded Byers.
