British airline Virgin Atlantic swung to a full-year loss as higher fuel costs and tough economic conditions took their toll, it said today.
The carrier was founded by serial entrepreneur Richard Branson.
It posted a pre-tax operating loss of £80.2m sterling in the year to the end of February compared to a profit of £18.5m in 2010/11.
The airline, partly owned by Singapore Airlines, said revenues grew 3% to £2.74 billion though fuel costs rose by a third.
Virgin's passenger numbers rose 2% to 5.4 million during the year and its load factor - a measure of how full its planes were - came in at 78%.
"In an incredibly challenging market, we have managed to grow top line revenues and fly more customers than last year," the airline's chief executive Steve Ridgway said.
"However, with the prevailing uncertainty in the economy, sky high fuel prices and a 25% hike in our air passenger duty fees, converting this sales growth into profit has not been possible," he added.
The airline, which is due to take delivery of six new Airbus A330 planes in the coming months, said it had made an encouraging start to its new financial year.
Rival British Airways, part of the IAG group, posted an operating profit of €13m in the six months to the end of June.
