Virgin Atlantic announces a loss for 2018
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Virgin Atlantic announced a £26m loss for 2018 yesterday, following a £49m loss in 2017.
Underlying numbers were more promising, with revenue rising by 5.8% to £2.78bn, passenger numbers growing by just under 5% to 5.4 million and revenue per customer rising by 1.7%.
The two core issues were the weakness of Sterling, given that jet fuel is priced in US$, and the continuing problems with the Boeing 787-9 fleet, much of which remains grounded due to problems with the Rolls-Royce engines.
Whilst we didn’t cover it on HfP, Rolls-Royce faced a new round of engine issues last week when Singapore Airlines grounded two Boeing 787-10 aircraft due to signs of engine turbine blade cracking. This implies that the issue is not unique to the Boeing 787-9 fleet.
Virgin Atlantic has warned that it does not expect to make financial progress in 2019 but that it should break even in 2020 and then return to profitability. The new A350-1000 aircraft are substantially cheaper to fly than the older aircraft they replace.
Here is a link to the 2018 Annual Report if you want to find out more.
One interesting fact – over 100,000 people have signed up to the new Virgin Atlantic credit cards in the first 12 months and over £1bn has been spent.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2021)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, one has a bonus of 15,000 points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points:
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points:
The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
(Want to earn more Virgin Points? Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)
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