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Virgin Atlantic posted pretax profit before exceptional items of £20m for 2024, compared to a pretax loss of £139m in 2023

Virgin Atlantic back in profit for first time since Covid

Virgin Atlantic, the British airline majority owned by Richard Branson, said it returned to profitability for the first time since the pandemic last year.

Business • 31 Mar

Virgin Atlantic posted an adjusted pre-tax loss of £139m for 2023 compared to a loss of £206m the previous year

Virgin Atlantic on course to return to profitability

Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic said today it would return to profitability this year after strong demand from holiday makers drove revenue up by £265m to a record £3.1 billion in 2023.

Business • 03 Apr 24

Richard Branson flew into space aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel in July 2021

Virgin Galactic completes first commercial spaceflight

Virgin Galactic has successfully flown its first paying customers to the final frontier, a long-awaited achievement that puts it back on track in the emerging private spaceflight sector.

World • 29 Jun 23

Virgin Orbit, founded by billionaire Richard Branson, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April

Virgin Orbit enters $17m bid to sell aircraft assets

Bankrupt satellite launch company Virgin Orbit said it entered into a "stalking horse" agreement with Stratolaunch to sell mainly its aircraft assets, including the "Cosmic Girl" carrier aircraft, for $17m in cash.

Business • 17 May 23

Virgin Orbit is seeking the sale of its assets, after laying off roughly 85% of its 750 employees

Virgin Orbit files Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings and its subsidiaries in the US filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan with the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the company has said.

Business • 20 Apr 23

Virgin Orbit air-launches rockets from beneath a modified Boeing plane to send satellites into orbit

Branson's Virgin Orbit files for bankruptcy

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Holdings has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after the satellite launch company failed to secure the long-term funding following a January rocket failure.

Business • 04 Apr 23

Virgin Orbit Holdings is controlled by Richard Branson's Virgin Group

Virgin Orbit to lay off about 85% of its staff

Rocket maker Virgin Orbit Holdings said it was laying off about 85% of staff because it had not been able to raise new investment.

Business • 31 Mar 23

A cash crunch has forced the satellite launch company to pause operations from today.

Virgin Orbit's cash woes force operational halt

Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit said it was exploring strategic opportunities and was in talks for potential funding after a cash crunch forced the satellite launch company to pause operations from today.

Business • 16 Mar 23

Richard Branson turned down the invitation and said the 'brave thing' for officials to do would be to engage with local activists

Branson turns down Singapore death penalty debate

British tycoon Richard Branson has rejected an invitation to debate Singapore's interior minister on the death penalty but doubled down on criticism that grew over the execution of a Malaysian man.

World • 31 Oct 22

Virgin Orbit is a small satellite launch service provider

Branson's Virgin Orbit to go public through acquisition

Billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is going public through a merger with a blank-check vehicle in a deal that values it at $3.2 billion and includes an investment from Boeing.

Business • 23 Aug 21

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is due on Sunday to send its passenger rocket plane on its first fully crewed test flight to the edge of space

Branson set to fly to space on Virgin Galactic rocket

Decades after establishing his reputation as a wealthy daredevil mogul in a series of boating and hot-air balloon expeditions, Richard Branson is poised to promote his burgeoning astro-tourism venture by launching himself to the final frontier.

Business • 09 Jul 21

Richard Branson's space trip is set for 11 July (File pic)

Branson aims to make space trip, days ahead of Bezos

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson is set to travel to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc's test flight on 11 July, beating out fellow billionaire and aspiring astronaut Jeff Bezos.

World • 02 Jul 21

Virgin Hyperloop executives reached speeds of up to 107 miles per hour (172 km per hour) at the company's DevLoop test site in Las Vegas

Virgin Hyperloop hosts first human trip

Richard Branson's Virgin Hyperloop has completed the world's first passenger ride on a super high-speed levitating pod system, a key safety test for technology it hopes will transform human and cargo transportation.

Business • 09 Nov 20

The airline has had to close its Gatwick base and cut over 3,500 jobs to reshape in light of the Covid-19 pandemic

Virgin Atlantic agrees £1.2 billion rescue deal

British airline Virgin Atlantic said it had agreed a private-only rescue deal with shareholders and creditors worth £1.2 billion to secure its future beyond the coronavirus crisis.

Business • 14 Jul 20

If it goes to plan it will be be first time the launch system has reached space

Branson eyes history with LauncherOne flight

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit is preparing to make history with the first orbital test flight of its LauncherOne vehicle.

World • 24 May 20

More than 10 parties have already expressed interest in recapitalising Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia appoints administrator to find buyer

Virgin Australia Holdings has today succumbed to third-party led restructuring that could lead to a sale, making Australia's second-biggest airline the Asia-Pacific region's biggest victim of the coronavirus crisis gripping the industry.

Business • 21 Apr 20

Virgin Atlantic will only survive Covid-19 if it gets financial support from the UK government, its founder Richard Branson has warned

Virgin Atlantic will need UK government help - Branson

Virgin Atlantic will only survive the coronavirus outbreak if it gets financial support from the British government, the airline's founder Richard Branson said today.

Business • 20 Apr 20

Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic Holdings made its market debut yesterday

Virgin Galactic soars before crashing to earth in debut

Richard Branson-backed Virgin Galactic Holdings reached a valuation of around $2.3 billion on its market debut yesterday, after shares in the first publicly traded space tourism company popped before fizzling out.

Business • 29 Oct 19

Branson's company is racing against Blue Origin to bring tourists into space

Branson's Virgin Galactic to go public

British billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic plans a stock market listing by the end of the year, becoming the first space tourism firm to tap public markets for funding.

Business • 09 Jul 19

Virgin Atlantic is the 1980s brainchild of British billionaire Richard Branson

Virgin Atlantic posts a loss for second year in a row

Virgin Atlantic has posted an annual pre-tax loss for the second consecutive year, hit by a shaky economy, the higher costs of fuel generated by weaker sterling and problems with Rolls Royce's Trent engines.

Business • 10 Apr 19

Today, Virgin Galactic's spaceship made it to a peak height

Virgin's SpaceShipTwo reaches space for first time

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flew higher than it ever has before, surpassing what the US Air Force considers the boundary of space, and marking the first manned flight to space from US soil since 2011.

Science and Technology • 13 Dec 18

Images released by Virgin Trains show empty seats on the train Jeremy Corbyn was on

CCTV footage casts doubt over Corbyn train claim

CCTV footage has been released appearing to show British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn walking past empty train seats before he was filmed sitting on the floor complaining about the "completely ram-packed" carriages.

News • 24 Aug 16

The 'Feathering' function on board SpaceShipTwo was deployed early

Device deployed early in Virgin Galactic crash

The investigation into last week's crash of the Virgin Galactic spaceship has found that the "feathering" function to help it descend into the atmosphere from space was deployed early.

News • 03 Nov 14

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket came down in the Mojave Desert in California

Branson not giving up on space tourism dream

British tycoon Richard Branson has insisted his dream of commercial space travel remains alive.

News • 01 Nov 14

Shares in Virgin Money expected to begin trading this month

Virgin Money reveals shares detail

Virgin Money announced details of its long-awaited stock market flotation today which will see £50m returned to the UK taxpayer .

Business • 02 Oct 14