virgin atlantic innovation case study

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Virgin Atlantic: A Case Study in Marketing Success

Everyone knows Virgin Atlantic because of the global brand that the group has created over the years, meaning that they are a case study in marketing success.

The airline has always been known for its innovative and creative marketing campaigns, which have helped to position it as a challenger brand to British Airways.

Early campaigns

Virgin Atlantic’s early marketing campaigns were typically lighthearted and irreverent, poking fun at the stuffiness of the airline industry.

One of the airline’s most famous early campaigns was the “Fly the Flag” campaign, which featured a series of ads that showed Virgin Atlantic employees and customers flying the Union Jack around the world.

The campaign was a tongue-in-cheek reference to British Airways’ status as the national carrier, and it helped to establish Virgin Atlantic as a more youthful and independent alternative.

Another early campaign that helped to define Virgin Atlantic’s brand was the “Uprising” campaign.

This campaign featured a series of ads that showed Virgin Atlantic passengers rebelling against the traditional airline experience.

The ads were often humorous and subversive, and they helped to position Virgin Atlantic as an airline that was more fun and exciting than its competitors.

Virgin Atlantic’s Marketing in the 1990s

In the 1990s, Virgin Atlantic’s marketing campaigns became even more daring and provocative.

One of the most famous campaigns from this era was the “Uncensored” campaign, which featured a series of ads that were sexually suggestive and politically incorrect.

The campaign was a huge success, and it helped to cement the carrier’s reputation as a brand that was not afraid to push the boundaries.

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Another successful campaign from the 1990s was the “Love Means Virgin Atlantic” campaign. This campaign featured a series of ads that celebrated the power of love and romance.

The ads were often heartwarming and touching, and they helped to position Virgin Atlantic as an airline that was all about making people’s dreams come true.

In the 2000s, the airline’s marketing campaigns became more focused on promoting the airline’s unique selling points.

One of the most successful campaigns from this era was the “Upper Class” campaign, which highlighted the airline’s luxurious and exclusive upper-class cabin.

The campaign was a huge success, and it helped to boost Virgin Atlantic’s premium revenue.

Another successful campaign from the 2000s was the “Flying High” campaign. This campaign featured a series of ads that celebrated the joy of flying.

The ads were often visually stunning, and they helped to position Virgin Atlantic as an airline that offered an unforgettable travel experience.

In the 2010s, Virgin Atlantic’s marketing campaigns became more focused on social media and digital marketing.

The airline launched a number of successful social media campaigns, including the “Looking for Linda” campaign, which encouraged people to share their travel stories on social media.

The campaign was a huge success, and it helped to increase Virgin Atlantic’s social media following.

The carrier also launched a number of successful digital marketing campaigns, such as the “See the World Differently” campaign, which featured a series of interactive videos that allowed people to explore different destinations around the world.

The campaign was a huge success, and it helped to increase the airline’s website traffic.

In the 2020s, the brand’s marketing campaigns have been focused on recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The airline has launched a number of campaigns aimed at encouraging people to travel again, such as the “Feel the Love” campaign, which featured a series of heartwarming ads that celebrated the power of travel.

The carrier also launched a number of campaigns aimed at promoting the airline’s sustainability initiatives.

The airline has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050, and it has launched a number of campaigns to raise awareness of this goal.

Virgin Atlantic Has Challenged British Airways: Overall…

Virgin Atlantic’s marketing campaigns have always been innovative and creative.

The airline has used its campaigns to challenge the status quo and to position itself as a challenger brand to British Airways.

The carrier’s marketing campaigns have been hugely successful, and they have helped to make the airline one of the most recognizable brands in the world.

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Case Studies

Cellpoint digital provide payments innovation for aviation giant virgin atlantic.

Virgin Atlantic turned to CellPoint Digital’s world-leading Payment Orchestration Platform to overcome mounting payment challenges.

Virgin Atlantic – a full-service carrier based out of Crawley, United Kingdom– recognized CellPoint Digital’s deep knowledge of payments specific to the airline industry. There was an alignment between the challenges faced by Virgin Atlantic and the solutions provided by CellPoint Digital, which laid the foundations for a successful partnership.

Through integrating CellPoint Digital’s pioneering Payment Orchestration Platform, Virgin Atlantic has been able to procure an innovative payment solution that both eases the process of accessing and onboarding new acquirers and enables the use of alternative payment methods.

Virgin Atlantic is one of the largest carriers in the UK and connects a myriad of international cities, including – but not limited to – New York, Orlando, Delhi and Johannesburg

To maintain its prominent position, Virgin Atlantic needs to remain at the cutting edge of payment services.

However, several problems had arisen for Virgin Atlantic: struggles accessing multiple credit card acquirers to diversify risk; inability to integrate directly with new acquirers due to the lengthy development work required; and lack of access to alternative payment methods.

Virgin Atlantic knew CellPoint Digital had unrivalled expertise in the airline payments space and recognized them as a market-leading specialist airline payments innovator.

CellPoint Digital’s nuanced understanding of the complexities of this industry drew the attention of Virgin Atlantic. Discussions exploring a potential payment partnership with CellPoint Digital to enhance Virgin Atlantic’s current offering began in 2019. A formal request for proposal process was carried out prior to the selection of CellPoint Digital.

The solutions offered by CellPoint Digital were neatly aligned with the challenges Virgin Atlantic wanted to resolve head-on. CellPoint Digital’s Payment Orchestration Platform was integrated into Virgin Atlantic’s current offering, advancing a market-leading payment solution that has opened new possibilities for Virgin Atlantic.

The partnership is supporting Virgin Atlantic to meet important business goals

The partnership between CellPoint Digital and Virgin Atlantic has been highly successful. Integration of Velocity, the leading Payment Orchestration Platform has allowed Virgin Atlantic to route its transactions to their preferred acquirers using the CellPoint Digital intelligent routing system. Access to multiple credit card acquirers has been promoted, supporting Virgin Atlantic’s desire to diversify its risk.

Furthermore, the process of adding new acquirers has been streamlined; Virgin Atlantic has been able to add a new credit card acquirer sooner than expected, leading to an optimised payment process that meets customer needs. Further success can be seen in the use of CellPoint Digital’s alternative payment hub.

The coming together of CellPoint Digital and Virgin Atlantic has afforded exciting opportunities through which Virgin Atlantic has – and will continue to – reduce friction in the payment experience. The partnership is supporting Virgin Atlantic to meet important business goals. Through adding new acquirers, and offering new payment methods, Virgin Atlantic is benefiting from increased acceptance rates and cost savings.

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Oct 12, 2018

Virgin: Flying High with Disruptive Innovation

• Digital Management and Leadership

Written by Kate Talbot

Virgin is one of the most iconic brands built in the last century that has changed how we view business. With a focus on the customer with a twist, Sir Richard Branson has disrupted a multitude of industries since launching Virgin Records in 1972.

Taking risks across all sectors has led to some failures such as Virgin Cola, Virgin Cosmetics, Virgin Megastore and Virgin Brides. However, those failures not only taught valuable lessons to those involved but led to incredible successes that are integral in building Virgin’s brand to where it is today.

These standouts include Virgin Mobile, Virgin Produced, Virgin Atlantic and America, and Virgin Active. In total, Branson has started more than 400 companies serving more than 60 million customers worldwide and generating $24 billion in annual revenue.

Clever Marketing Stunts

As the business landscape has shifted in the last 45 years since Virgin launched, so have the marketing tactics to scale companies to global domination. Before present-day communication, which is as easy as a tap on the screen and disseminated to millions, Branson utilized marketing stunts to create a splash for each of his business launches.

These publicity stunts included dressing up as a bride for Virgin Brides, as a Zulu Warrior for the new South Africa route for Virgin Atlantic, and driving a tank through Times Square in New York pretending to shoot down the Coca-Cola sign for Virgin Cola.

It is through Branson’s brilliance and vibrancy that Virgin Group’s brand ethos includes the following traits:

• Heartfelt service
• Delightfully surprising
• Smart disruption
• Straight up
• Insatiable curiosity

The Artwork

These brand traits are then brought to life through the Virgin logo – which is one of the most recognizable logos in the world. In the words of Branson, the concept for the logo came about as such: “The origins of our now iconic logo were so simple… a young designer came to meet me on my houseboat, and while we were talking scribbled the design on a paper napkin. That was it. I loved it immediately. It looked like a signature. It had attitude. It had energy. It was in-your-face simplistic.”

And, the color is red to embody “Virgin’s red-hot attitude that is sophisticated yet playful, glamorous yet cheeky, stylish yet flirty.”

This logo has shifted over time as Virgin’s focus on innovation and forward thinking is mirrored in the logo, and has gone from the “iconic signature” to “blobbing out” to the “Nasa script”.

Just as the logo has evolved, so has the way Virgin communicates to their consumers. Being at the forefront of digital innovation, the Virgin brand was one of the first to start on social media.

Branson now has over 30 million social media followers and is the Guinness World Record Holder for “Most LinkedIn Followers” with 13.6 million. With being so early to market, Virgin has 80 million social media followers and an in-depth digital strategy that yields incredible results for brand positivity and website conversions.

Digital Content Marketing

With content being the driving factor in illustrating how Virgin is “changing business for good”, there are a variety of ways that this comes to life. Greg Rose, Head of Content at Virgin, explained this in an interview: “The main form this takes is through content, whether that is digital, through events, partnerships, written content, videos, podcasts, social, or campaigns combining all of the above. We’re not driven by any particular platform or channel. Rather it’s by the audience. This enables us to experiment with the type of content we produce, how we get it out there, and use the right amount of data insight to inform both.”

This focus on content creation and strategic distribution alongside data-driven marketing have led to the incredible content being delivered to audiences across the board. An example of this was through the Virgin America Safety Video:

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The Virgin America team understood that safety videos were stodgy and boring, so they spiced it up with their rendition known as the ‘VX Safety Dance’. With their target audience being business travelers who are young, hip and fun, they produced the video with the up-and-coming director Jon Chu, and included rising music stars like Todrick Hall.

They integrated social media into their launch plan with a teaser on Instagram, utilized Facebook and Twitter advertising to promote the video to a large-scale audience, and continued sharing the behind-the-scenes content on their social media pages throughout the launch to educate their audience into all that went into the production. In doing so, the video was a viral hit, it won a Shorty Award, and had over 13 million YouTube views.

By knowing their target audience and crafting engaging content for them on the channels that they consume, Virgin can deliver their messaging effectively, leading to commercial and financial success.

Traditional Marketing Elements

Present day marketers know that you need to supplement digital marketing with traditional marketing. And, of course, the Virgin brand has been strong for many years even before digital took off. They have always invested in traditional PR blitzes and stunts, billboards viewed all over the world, and newspaper ads that generate tons of brand awareness.

Taking the example of Virgin America, they knew they had to mass market to business travelers and not all find their information online. To do so, they implemented out-of-home advertising and billboard campaigns highlighting new flight routes. Investing in out-of-home advertising takes a strategic mindset, communicating the message in the right places and to the right people.

The best real estate that they invested in was a billboard close to San Francisco International Airport on the freeway to Silicon Valley and they had digital billboards at bus stops all over San Francisco. Capturing the attention of prospective travelers over and over again is smart business practice because when they go to book a flight, they’ll remember the value of Virgin America via the creative messaging.

By implementing these ads, they’re able to take their brand message and flight deals to a broader audience, supplementing the digital marketing execution.

Brand Image

As Virgin continues to expand its empire utilizing digital and traditional marketing avenues to scale, the most substantial part of Virgin is brand loyalty towards all things Virgin. Whenever a new venture launches, customers know that if it’s part of the Virgin brand, it’ll exemplify those fundamental brand values stated earlier.

A recent example of this is Virgin Hotels which is expanding in the UK and US. With positive brand sentiment and a focus on the consumer, this has allowed for early success. When booking a hotel, customers will know that the hotel has innovative features, a fun-loving and cheeky atmosphere, and exceptional customer service.

Moreover, the design of the hotels mirrors that of the Virgin logo with red everywhere and a zest for fun. In doing so, guests share their love for Virgin Hotels on social media, creating a great feedback loop for the brand to spread and find new customers.

With the Virgin logo and brand being one of the most recognizable globally, with each new business launch, they have to stay true to the ethos of the brand. This strategy has served them well as they can connect with the audience that loves all things Virgin, and can continue to provide an excellent experience.

The Power of Personality

Overall, the Virgin brand has been successful largely because of Branson’s star power and strong values. He is globally known as a risk taker with forward-thinking ideas which permeate to all that he touches.

For the millions that follow him daily on social media, he is now much more accessible than ever before. Each day, there’s a new social post about his travels and initiatives, whether it’s about space with Virgin Galactic, spending time with his family and grandchildren on Necker Island or his focus on global impact with his work with the Elders.

Also, when he travels around and speaks to huge audiences, he always takes the time to meet with fans and takes plenty of selfies.

The Impact of Virgin

With a long history of disrupting industries and creating a brand adorned by millions, Virgin has changed the global business landscape for the better. They’ve been able to focus on customer needs with innovation of the center of their thought processes.

Always inclined to take a risk, each company within the larger brand aligns with Virgin beliefs and ethos. And, of course, for each new business launch, Branson, with his larger than life personality, is there to make a huge splash.

Looking to the future, Virgin is at the forefront of global initiatives for space travel, reducing climate change and human rights equality. Time will tell how these investments turn out, but one thing is for certain, Branson and everyone at the Virgin Group will have a fun time shaking up the status quo.

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Toolkits: new employee induction template, webinars: webinar: land your dream digital marketing job, ebooks: salary guides for digital marketers 2023, articles: what’s the value of accrediting a marketing program for universities & colleges, articles: 5 easy ways to upskill your marketing team in a remote world, articles: universities & colleges: 5 effective ways to differentiate your marketing program in 2023, kate talbot.

Kate Talbot is a marketing consultant working with global clients. Based in Silicon Valley, she has led content marketing and social media at Virgin America and Kiva, scaled user growth at B2B and B2C startups, and crafted thought leadership strategies and content for top tier venture capitalists. She is a senior contributor to Forbes , and the author of the bestselling book ' Oh Snap! You Can Use Snapchat for Business '. She has been featured on NBC News, CNBC, Huffington Post, Newsday, TechCrunch and VentureBeat. You can find her at her website and on Twitter . 

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Virgin Atlantic

Implementing an innovative 4PL control tower structure to ensure effective movement of goods through the supply chain.

Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2023, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain’s only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the seventh year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs more than 7,500 people worldwide, flying customers to 30 destinations across four continents throughout the year.  

Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to over 200 cities around the world. In February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers. Virgin Atlantic joined SkyTeam in March 2023 as the global airline alliance’s first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance’s transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester Airport.    

Virgin Atlantic has been pioneering sustainability leadership for more than 15 years, committing to Net Zero by 2050 and continuous action that reduces environmental impact. The airline operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the skies and has reduced its absolute carbon emissions by 35% over the last decade. In October 2022, Virgin Atlantic welcomed the first of 16 A330-900neos to the fleet, continuing its transformation towards 100% next generation aircraft by 2027. Later in 2023, Virgin Atlantic led an industry consortium to deliver the first 100% SAF flight across the transatlantic. This demonstrated that 100% SAF can be used safely as a drop in fuel in existing infrastructure, engines and airframes. The need to scale production is an industry imperative and Virgin Atlantic is committed to radical collaboration across the energy chain to support commercialization ahead of 2030.

The challenge:

Virgin Atlantic was looking for a strategic 4PL provider to support its aspiration of being the airline most loved by their customers. Specifically, the company sought out a supplier to manage and forecast Inflight services, Airport Stationary and Clubhouse, alongside operating a lean warehousing and logistics operation across their global network.

The solution:

SEKO implemented a robust 4PL control tower structure, enabling the Virgin Atlantic team to effectively manage the movement of goods throughout the supply chain. To ensure the company was in the best hands, SEKO appointed a team of subject matter experts with the knowledge and understanding of industry trends and changes in the market. This group of subject matter experts allowed SEKO to maximize Virgin Atlantic’s savings.

SEKO also streamlined Virgin Atlantic’s processes by installing technology, such as a demand and forecasting tool. Utilizing this tool, SEKO was able to classify items by demand pattern, create forecasting and demand plans, calculate order parameters, and optimize orders. To provide live visibility of stock on hand and dispatch information, from ‘pick in progress’ to ‘dispatch’, SEKO fully integrated its SEKO 360 Warehouse Management system with Virgin Atlantic.

Utilizing  the new data available, SEKO moved to a proactive vs. reactive model. The 4PL control tower team took over the management of orders, proactively preventing overstock or understock, which can require costly returns or emergency orders.

The result:

• 250,000 square-foot UK centralized warehouse, owned by SEKO with a dedicated team. This warehouse provides a secure site and the relevant bond license to handle the movement of alcohol, along with all other onboard consumables and equipment.
• Dedicated control tower management team with over 30 years experience in airline supply chain, who are committed to providing the best service available possible to Virgin Atlantic. The team responds quickly to accommodate changes in the market, new routes being added to Virgin’s network, aircraft changes, and changes to on-board service provisions, all with a smile!
• With over 150 offices in more than 60 countries, SEKO has the network, relationships, and local knowledge in place to manage inbound and outbound deliveries within Virgin’s supply chain – FOB, Ex-Works or DDP.
• Ordering less frequently with better data availability, which reduces number of pallets in the warehouse.​

We’re delighted to be continuing our business relationship with SEKO Logistics through 2025. Our brand values, high service standards and quest for continuous improvements and innovation are aligned, ensuring that we both remain customer and service focused. Andrew Smith Senior Manager, Inflight Services Product Supply Chain at Virgin Atlantic

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Perspectives

Virgin Atlantic, UK, Navigates Turbulence Deftly With RPA-led Digital Transformation

03 december 2021, a wns perspective.

Leading UK airline, Virgin Atlantic, was looking to improve its customer experience in refund requests which had increased 400x more due to the global lock-downs

The airline partnered with WNS to deploy intelligent automation and transform its operations in processing claims

WNS’ robotic process automation-led solution now ensures swift processing of refund requests and increased accuracy, leading to improved customer satisfaction

This is our story of co-creating and deploying an intelligent automation solution to transform customer experience for Virgin Atlantic, a leading UK airline, when COVID-19 resulted in thousands of flight cancellations during an unprecedented crisis in the history of aviation.

As we know…

Airlines lose billions of dollars in revenue every year due to poor customer service. The industry is also subject to close scrutiny by aviation regulators. From bookings to refunds to cancellations, airlines need holistic digital transformation, powered by Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and intelligent automation, to ensure timely response to customers and meet stringent regulatory requirements.

The challenge for Virgin Atlantic was…

It had to deal with a sudden surge in refund requests due to COVID-19. It became apparent quickly that the exponential rise in requests — 400x more than the norm — required a lot more than the high standards that Virgin Atlantic is renowned for.

Delivering superior customer experience across operations had always been at the heart of Virgin Atlantic since inception. In order to maintain customer trust and its reputation, the airline began exploring intelligent automation solutions that could improve efficiencies and reduce the turnaround time in processing and closing claims. The aim was to offer the best possible service to customers during difficult times by meeting their expectations more quickly and efficiently. At the same time, it was crucial to comply with regulatory requirements. The airline industry’s systems and processes in executing claims are complex due to many regulatory and interlinked components.

Virgin Atlantic partnered with WNS, an experienced collaborator with in-depth knowledge of the industry, as it began its digital transformation journey.

Here’s what we co-created as a solution…

WNS leveraged its 20+ years of experience in the airline industry and technology expertise to deploy RPA interventions with zero disruption to Virgin Atlantic’s core operations.

Manual activities that involved processing refunds against multiple airline systems were automated. We worked jointly with Virgin Atlantic to design an optimized to-be process, and choose a third-party RPA platform. Speed and agility came together as we developed and deployed BOTs in less than eight weeks. The BOTs enabled Virgin Atlantic to significantly improve productivity and accuracy, and quicken the refund process.

Diligent planning and innovative design were essential cogs in a collaborative process that brought together various teams such as IT, information security, operations and management across Virgin Atlantic, WNS and the third-party platform provider.

The outcomes from the process of co-creation are…

An implementation that would have taken years was completed in eight weeks. Other outcomes include:

~90 percent of the ‘refund-carding’ process is managed through BOTs without manual interventions; each BOT completes three times the transactions as that of a human agent

~30 percent productivity benefits and higher accuracy of claim closure in ticket refunds

~93 percent improvement in the quality of claims processing – without any process re-engineering

The BOTs augment and accelerate the validation of requests by verifying the accuracy of data, rejecting incomplete and duplicate requests, and ensuring country-specific compliance. Virgin Atlantic is now able to work through high claim volumes while reducing backlogs and hold time, resulting in increased customer satisfaction.

The strength of this partnership and the speed at which the process kicked in has enabled Virgin Atlantic to maintain its position as a reputed airline that its customers love and trust — elements that are crucial for its long-term success.

About WNS TRAVOGUE:

WNS is a leading Business Process Management partner to more than 400+ global businesses, including 100+ Travel & Hospitality companies. Our clients in the travel and hospitality industry trust WNS TRAVOGUE for designing and executing their data and digital led business transformation journeys.

Built on more than two decades of experience working with clients from Airlines, Hospitality, OTA and TMC segments, the WNS TRAVOGUE suite of offerings brings together the best of industry expertise, data-to-insights prowess and digital innovation.

Across the value chain, we enable our clients to deliver delightful customer experiences with TravXP , drive operational excellence with TravOps , accelerate revenue growth with TravRev , devise accounting and risk management strategies for financial control with TravControl , achieve inclusive and sustainable growth with TravGreen and outperform the competition with growth-led strategies powered by TravConsult .

To know more about WNS TRAVOGUE, read here .

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Virgin Atlantic Takes Email Marketing to New Heights With AI-Optimized Content

Virgin Atlantic (and Virgin Atlantic Holidays) has a history of shaking things up, ever since it first arrived on the airline scene. From its bright red cabin crew uniforms and its exotic destinations to its innovative products and services, the brand stood out among a sea of legacy airlines.  

The personality and language of Virgin Atlantic have always played a major role in the brand’s success and inspiring people to fly. In its early days, Virgin Atlantic had a distinctive tone of voice and used radical language to get attention. Remember “Play with yourself,” anyone? This was an advertisement to promote the first seatback games. Cheeky!  

Fast forward to today and Virgin Atlantic is no longer the tiny airline up against the Goliaths of airline travel. But its quirky and distinctive brand voice remains a vital part of engaging customers.  

When Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Atlantic Holidays were looking for new ways to enhance customer experiences and push its marketing to new heights, they looked to Phrasee, empowering them to further challenge marketing norms with AI-powered content.  

Virgin Atlantic had already seen above-average open rates with its email channel, but the brand wanted to exceed expectations.

The travel industry is notoriously competitive.

Virgin Atlantic Head of Customer Experience Mark Croucher says, “People can choose a number of ways to get to their destinations – but the difference with Virgin Atlantic is that we don’t make it about getting from A to B, it’s about the Virgin experience from first opening an email, to getting ready for take-off. Remaining competitive to us is all about staying true to our brand values and offering unbelievable customer service no matter where you sit on the plane.”

Operating in a climate with low-cost carriers and the increasing commoditization of long-haul travel, Virgin Atlantic wanted to expand its offering to a younger, more price-sensitive generation. The airline also wanted to open up new routes in the Caribbean to customers and connect with audiences in a personal way.

As Mark says, “We put our customers at the heart of all our marketing – how can we make the experience feel individual to them?”

Always looking for new ways to surprise and delight its customers, Virgin Atlantic recognizes the importance of its messaging in exciting customers.  

The Virgin Atlantic team found that Phrasee’s AI-generated content could understand and execute the brand’s quirky and distinctive voice in ways better than they could have imagined.   

Phrasee worked with Virgin Atlantic to create marketing messages tailored to Virgin Atlantic’s brand tone of voice, with consistent feedback from the Virgin Atlantic team … and it’s this consistency that forms part of Virgin Atlantic’s secret sauce of exceptional customer experience.

“By working with Phrasee, we were able to optimize open rates on a more consistent and continuous basis.”

Phrasee played a key role in Virgin Atlantic’s email marketing campaigns, making sure as many people as possible opened its emails.  

The results? Using Phrasee has led to an 11% average open uplift and 16% average click-through rate uplift for Virgin Atlantic. For one single campaign, Virgin Atlantic saw a click uplift as high as 89%.  

As Charlotte says, working with Phrasee “leads to a lot more people flying with us.”  

Virgin Atlantic now uses Phrasee for its monthly newsletter, for announcing new routes like Tel Aviv, and for communications about new launches such as the A350.  

And despite having very different brand identities and talking to different customers, both Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic have seen incredible successes with Phrasee.  

Phrasee is optimizing language for audiences with every email send, helping the Virgin family of brands take customer obsession to a new, improved, and outstanding level.  

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The Big Rethink: Virgin Atlantic case study

Session title: How understanding the customer's experience has led to innovative services that encourage more people to fly Virgin.

Joe Ferry , Head of Design at Virgin Atlantic Airways spent 10 minutes talking us through the recent design challenges he's faced during the last few years. Virgin have 7,500 staff, 5,000,000 passengers and 40 aircraft, which is just a fraction of what the other major players have. Joe insists that Virgin Atlantic has no right to exist and the fact that it does and is successful is entirely due to the fact that it is different. What separates Virgin Atlantic according to Joe is service and product—design is at the heart of everything they do.

Despite the collapse in the market in response to September 11th Twin Towers tragedy Virgin undertook a multimillion dollar upgraded the first class seats and experience that launched in April 2002.

Where you sleep is now no longer where the travellers sits. The level of investment required to develop a new seat for the fleet is around £1-2m. Then to roll that out across the fleet is around £100m.

Virgin have ensured that the team that worked on the upper class products and service is that same team that works on the experience and products for the other classes. This is to ensure that learnings and elements are reused.

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Virgin Atlantic Airways: Ten Years After

Prizes & Awards

This case is amongst the top 50 most popular cases in the 50 years history of The Case Centre – 1973-2023

2007 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

2006 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

2005 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

2004 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

2003 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

2002 The Case Centre Best-selling Case in the Category 'Marketing'

Overall Winner of the 1996 Case Centre Awards

Winner of 1995 EFMD Case Writing Competition in the Category 'Relationship Marketing'

The Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA) case was written on the occasion of the company's 10th anniversary. In 10 years, VAA has brought many innovations to the airline industry and won many awards for its service. It has fought against giants on an international scale and has survived the airline industry's most difficult years. The case describes the history of the firm, its achievements, and its practices especially in terms of operations, human resources and marketing.

The case aims to discuss the concept of customer value delivery and to understand the mechanisms by which VAA can profitably offer its customers high quality service at a low price. Other possible pedagogical objectives are positioning, innovation, service, quality, and public relations. The case is best suited for courses on marketing management or services management.

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Virgin Atlantic Airways: Ten Years After (French)

By   Jean-Claude Larreche ,  Pantéa Denoyelle

Jean-Claude Larreche

Pantéa  denoyelle, recommended cases.

First Direct: Branchless Banking

Reference 4660

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Flying into a Storm: British Airways (1996-2000)

Reference 4906

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REDEFINING THE END-TO-END PASSENGER EXPERIENCE AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

Virgin Atlantic takes quantum leap in redefining customer experience

Cabin Design & Interiors // Jul 2019

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Established 35 years ago with the ethos of creating special travel moments, Virgin Atlantic now offers a truly unique travel experience to its customers.

Future Travel Experience reporter Mohammad Bhimani recently met with Juha Järvinen, EVP Commercial, Virgin Atlantic, at the airline’s headquarters near Gatwick Airport to discuss future plans, including the development of new routes and a game-changing Upper Class cabin that will be debuted on the fleet of A350 aircraft it currently has on order.

Järvinen, who is also President of the Board of Directors for the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX), joined Virgin Atlantic in January 2019, having previously been Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair. Before that, he held senior commercial and operations positions at SAS.

“My job within the organisation is to make sure that we have the growth engine and mindset to develop Virgin Atlantic,” he says. “If you think about Virgin Atlantic right now, we are going through a growth phase, we are getting new aircraft in the A350, and we have announced three new routes, with two launching this year.” 

Those three new services from London Heathrow are to Tel Aviv (from September 2019), Mumbai (from October 2019) and São Paulo (launching in 2020).

Gaining Velocity

Virgin Atlantic recently launched a new three-year plan – Velocity – which includes three key strategic pillars that are all designed to reflect the airline’s spirit:

• ‘Red on the inside’ is about the employees at Virgin Atlantic, with a clear focus on developing them to better serve customers.

• ‘Red on the outside’ covers opportunities from a revenue perspective, through increased distribution in sales channels, to ultimately build a network globally.

• ‘The best in partnering’ is focused on building Virgin Atlantic’s global footprint and developing its network through growth opportunities and partnering with other airlines.

Game-changing Upper Class cabin

Virgin Atlantic recently revealed the newly-designed cabins for its much-anticipated Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. The new Upper Class cabin , complete with a social space known as ‘The Loft’, provides a refreshing new look and experience. Each business class suite includes a lie-flat seat, adjustable mood lighting, an 18.5-inch inflight entertainment (IFE) screen, and plenty of personal space and storage. 

Though the cabin design onboard the A350 is described as “sophisticated and mature”, Järvinen says that the key focus is on evolving with the times. The A350 will be a direct replacement for some of the carrier’s older aircraft, including its fleet of 747s with an average age of 19.5 years, meaning the airline will have a much younger fleet overall.

It may take time for a consensus to emerge about whether Virgin Atlantic’s product innovations and enhancements were worth the investment. However, it is clear that, through a renewed strategy and leadership approach, the airline is striving to achieve its aim of being “the most loved travel company and becoming Britain’s second flag-carrier”.

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Research: Stakeholder Theory: A Case Study Of Virgin Atlantic And The Covid-19 Bailout

The context of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic and the economic and reputation crises at Virgin Atlantic Airways accounts for the need to consider multilateral stakeholder relationships in crisis management for long-term sustainability. It is argued that a better comprehension of the dynamics of stakeholder relationships at Virgin Atlantic Airways could have fashioned a more proactive response to the crises. Government officials, civil society and the media condemned Virgin Atlantic Airways and its founder, Richard Branson, for the bailout request form the UK government. It is argued that in its initial response, Virgin Atlantic failed to engage in codetermination with social factors of key stakeholders and therefore failed to recognize the increase in salience of civil society. The ethical rationale of Virgin Atlantic was unintentionally amoral according to the best-case scenario, intentionally amoral according to the average-case scenario and immoral according to the worst-case scenario.

About The Author

Dr. Karina Ochis is a Dual PhD / Doctor of Applied Leadership Graduate. She holds the position of Professor Professor of Communication Studies at Monarch. She holds a Master of Arts in Political Marketing from the Rome Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from The University of London. She also holds a Certificate in Digital Strategy from the Online Marketing Institute in San Francisco. Dr. Ochis is an author, CEO and coach. She has spoken at TEDx, Million Marketing Tour (London � Charlotte � Copenhagen � Kiev), Women Speakers Summit Nigeria, Business Days, Elite Business Woman, The Woman, Romanian Academy of Economic Studies and several others. At present, she is CEO of Ana Karina Luxury Concept and of KO by Karina Ochis in Romania.

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Virgin Atlantic

Reigniting virgin atlantic’s legacy: crafting clarity and connection in the travel industry.

Services: Consumer & Customer, Insight & Analytics | Segmentation, Personas & GrowthMap | Purpose, Positioning & Values 

Bridging the gap in premium travel

When Virgin Atlantic turned to us for assistance, it was evident that despite its historic prominent standing in the travel industry, the brand had encountered a challenge of inconsistency over time. Both consumers and internal teams were grappling with a lack of clarity regarding what truly set Virgin Atlantic apart or justified the premium associated with its offerings.

In our endeavor to provide a solution for Virgin Atlantic, we embarked on the task of reviving the brand’s essence through a renewed brand positioning. Our aim was to establish a clear and resonant brand promise that would not only define what Virgin Atlantic distinctively offered but also effectively engage with critical target segments, including business travellers and the younger generation.

Elevating travel thoughtfulness: a visionary journey with Virgin Atlantic

As part of our solution for Virgin Atlantic, we recognized a prevailing deficiency in the thoughtfulness of many travel experiences. Our analysis revealed that Virgin Atlantic uniquely possessed the innovation, human touch, and imaginative prowess needed to craft the distinct and exceptional experiences that our target audience desired.

To address this, our approach comprised:

Conducting a comprehensive Business & Insight Audit Scrutinizing Competitors & Industry Trends Carrying out thorough Consumer Segmentation Exploring Segments through Qualitative Analysis Developing a Targeted Brand Positioning Establishing Strategic Guardrails Articulating the Creative Agency Briefing.

We made a significant impact for Virgin Atlantic by formulating a fresh brand positioning along with a comprehensive strategy that outlines precisely how the brand will achieve its business goals. To ensure a seamless implementation, we also devised comprehensive execution guidelines. These guidelines seamlessly informed the creation of their new creative brief for the 2022 ‘ See the world differently ‘ advertisement, aligning the brand’s vision with its creative expression.

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Stephen McCallion

Global head of marketing communications at taqa, former global head of corporate identity communications , shell.

Globally experienced marketing communications, corporate brand/ branding professional with strong technical & leadership skills. Strategist with ability to develop internal & external networks, achieve buy-in from senior stakeholders, gain C-suite support and deliver-with-excellence. Well- honed decision-making skills. Collaborative. Keep-it-simple approach.

Andrew Flowers

Senior digital marketing manager, microsoft & nokia.

Andrew is a content strategist and producer with in-house experience from the likes of Microsoft, Nokia, Ericsson and nASDAQ OMX. In the past few years Andrew has mainly been focused on producing online videos and TV advertisements for smartphones, yet his broad career also spans financial communication, consumer PR and B2B copywriting.

James Stevenson

Founder and managing director of bletchley group digital consultant of marks and spencer, uk.

James helped businesses create, transform and grow their digital presence, products and teams using strategy, marketing, product and technology. Working for global brands, offering a range of digital services from e-commerce, to online brand protection, digital business strategies and online marketing, helping clients understand new busi- ness practices, new consumer behaviour, and new digital technologies available.

His Clients include: Guardian News and Media, Selfridges & Co, Bacardi, News Interna- tional, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Grey Goose Vodka Hilton Hotels.

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Martin has held international HR director roles with Dow Chemical, Ericsson, Serco and BP including vice President resource management for Ericsson based in Stockholm and HR Director Operations Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific for the BP Group. Martin has experience of running a business as a General Manager and has also led major change and transformation programmes.

Martin was the lead in HR at Transport for London for the 2012 Olympics after which he decided to focus on non-executive director and consultancy work. His clients include the Cabinet Office, UK (Cabinet Office supports the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, and ensures the effective running of government) and healthcare charity ‘Action for Change’ where he is also a non-executive director.

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Tony Coll is one of the UK’s most experienced media and presentation coaches and trainers. A former BBC TV and BBC Radio reporter and producer, he has worked for many years with senior figures from companies and organisations of all sizes; politicians; national and local government officers; health service and utility managers; pressure group spokespeople; charity workers; chief police and fire officers. He worked at cabinet level with the late Veronica Crichton, former director of communications at the Labour Party, in media training several UK government ministers. Tony’s training can be delivered in the form of personal coaching or consultancy, in groups or as part of wider emergency response training. It covers effective emergency communication with newspapers, radio, TV and social media as well as addressing live audiences.

Tony Coll is an Oxford law graduate who began his career as a newspaper reporter in North East London and Sheffield.  He moved on to the BBC World Service, BBC Radio One ‘Newsbeat’, BBC and commercial local radio and BBC regional TV in Manchester and London.  He has interviewed cabinet ministers and other public figures; researched, produced, reported and presented news and current affairs programmes, from hard news, sequence programmes and “built” documentaries, through live political discussions and phone-ins, to lighter features, celebrity profiles and vox pops.

Simon Nicholson

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Omar Rostom

Consumer engagement and media manager near east, north africa, levant, & emerging asia, microsoft.

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President 2013 , international public relations association, former digital evangelist for europe, middle east and africa, edelman.

International public relations expert and a digital guru with more than 20 years of experience. - Deputy Managing Director of Edelman EMEA, European Technology – Digital evangelist (2011-2012), fouunder and Managing Director Rumeur Publique (1988, 2011). - President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) for 2013. - Founder of NGO ‘Internet sans Frontières’ (Internet without Borders) in 2007 then WebDiversity in 2011. - Published author of Allons, enfants de l'Internet! (Publisher: Diateino, 2010). - Creator of the "ReputationWar" international conference (2013). - Professor of Lobbying & Influence at INSEEC (since 2010).

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Guy has 30 years’ experience in international BBC TV news, corporate communications and media consultancy. Now based in the UAE since 2006, he founded and ran for 10 years a successful media training and consultancy firm in London, Greenwich Village PR, working with blue chip clients such as KPMG, the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), L’Oreal (Paris) and the Crown Estate. In 2006, as adviser to the spokesman of the Asian Games Doha, he led the official response to the media onslaught following the death of a competitor. Guy has worked for many international news organisations such as BBC TV, BBC World Service Radio, International Television News (ITN), Reuters, EuroNews and Channel 4 News.

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How Virgin Atlantic Airways Connects Employees with Innovative IC Tools [INTERVIEW]

Join the Internal Communications Camp in Barcelona on May 18, 2015!

Viktoria Tegard , will share her insights on keeping up with the industry’s changes at the conference. imgZine got the opportunity to interview her and learn more about this exciting topic.

  Virgin Atlantic Airways has always been a leader in innovation. How do you use internal communications to inspire innovation in your workforce?

We have an ethos of being brave and trying new things that will benefit the customer. In recent years this has, for instance, included pioneering trials of wearable technology like Google Glass, as well as Apple’s iBeacon technology, which helps us communicate with customers at the airport.

Internal communication plays an important role in nurturing and encouraging a corporate culture that drives innovation. In recognition of this, innovation is a crucial part of the strategic narrative we use for internal messaging in digital as well as face-to-face channels.

Could you give some examples?

Talking openly about innovation and findings from trials of new ideas and initiatives, both when things have been successful and when they need more work and input, is incredibly important. We always consider things from the customer’s perspective and encourage everyone at Virgin Atlantic to play a part in coming up with new ideas and provide feedback. Our senior leaders also spend a significant amount of time listening to our people. This is crucial when it comes to inspiring innovation from our workforce. It not only ensures our leaders are in touch with the customer and what’s really going on in the business, it also ensures our people and their ideas are heard.

Virgin Atlantic Airways has over 9,000 employees, which is a great sales force. How are they involved in promoting your business?

Our brand is one of our biggest assets. We measure extremely high levels of pride in our brand amongst our employees and know that they are keen to share information about Virgin Atlantic through their own networks. We proactively work with our colleagues in Marketing, PR and Social Media to make sure we maximize all opportunities to build brand engagement internally. We often do this in a fun and uniquely Virgin way to make sure we build enthusiasm and support amongst our people.

We’re also currently in the process of rolling out and embedding an employee advocacy program to motivate and educate our people on how to share our brand content, primarily using social channels. It’s all about encouraging and empowering our people to advocate the exciting things we do as a business.

What do you think the future holds for internal communications?

Three things that will be key when it comes to the future of internal communications:

1.High levels of employee engagement

Companies who want to remain competitive and successful need to ensure they involve, motivate and inspire colleagues. At Virgin Atlantic we recognise the strong link between employee engagement and the superior customer service our people deliver. This will continue to stay top of the agenda.

2. A holistic view on communication

The lines between internal and external communications are increasingly blurring, particularly due to the impact social media is having. It’s never been more important to take a holistic view on communication without necessarily thinking of activities as internal versus external.

3. Supporting businesses through change

Organisations increasingly have to be flexible with the ability to successfully drive and implement change. Great change communication is a critical success factor and an area that I think will continue to grow and develop.

Do not miss an exciting opportunity to join Viktoria Tegard, as well as other leading IC professionals from Heineken, HP, Zurich Insurance and many more at the Internal Communications Camp on May 18, 2015 in Barcelona.

About the Author: Kelly Verdonk is Communications-Researcher at imgZine. She writes posts and reports on the latest internal & external communications trends, market research and customer insights.

What you can read next

An inside Look at eBay’s Data-driven Internal Communications [interview]

Keep a Sense of Perspective [interview]

IC Camp Paris 2015 [PRESS RELEASE]

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Outsourcing employee relations support to empower® by AdviserPlus

Due to the impacts of COVID-19, Virgin Atlantic’s operations were heavily impacted; permanent headcount reductions were made and furlough took effect as the mobility of people worldwide was curtailed. The need for effective employee relations support became more urgent than ever.

In 2020, Virgin Atlantic redefined their HR operating model. This included removing the Employee Relations Manager and Consultant roles and setting up a centralised Advice and Guidance team within People Operations. It was recognised by the Leadership Team at Virgin Atlantic that processes needed to be underpinned by an effective self-service offering to maintain the leadership style synonymous with the brand: that happy employees equal happy customers. Accordingly, they sought a partner that could provide:

• a best-in-class service, as befitting Virgin Atlantic’s reputation as a market-leader; • a manager self-service solution, aligned with Virgin Atlantic’s reputation as an innovator; • a seamless extension of the in-house HR Team; all in a cost-efficient way.

of Virgin Atlantic Managers rated our case adviser's understanding of their business area and specific circumstances as excellent.

“Fantastic service – the advice was brilliant and gave me all I needed to handle the case on my own.”

Line Manager feedback, Virgin Atlantic

AdviserPlus worked with Virgin Atlantic  to deliver:

• Within just four weeks of engagement, AdviserPlus mobilised an advice line, staffed by dedicated ER advisers who were wholly aligned with Virgin Atlantic’s policies, processes, procedures, culture, brand identity and commerciality;
• empower®  technology to provide line managers with the ability to self-serve and end-to-end manage people matters, including sickness absence, informal disciplinary, performance and grievance, and flexible working from their remote locations, with confidence and consistency  This meant a substantial reduction in the volume of cases warranting involvement from the in-house HR Team, enabling them to focus on the more complex cases;
• An analytics portal to provide a centralised reporting dashboard for all ER and advice and guidance data;
• Assurance that people matters are being dealt with consistently and compliantly, with any complex cases or concerns referred to the in-house People team.

Read the full case study here.

The benefits

24/7 access to case management portal and analytics solution to track case progress and volumes

Consistent high-quality advice and guidance from AdviserPlus advisers who are fully immersed in the company’s culture, practices, processes and policies

Assurance that people matters are being dealt with consistently and compliantly, with any complex cases or concerns referred to the in-house People team

Increased confidence and capability in managers to deal with people issues before engaging with HR

Cost and resource efficiencies created as a result of outsourcing to AdviserPlus

Get in touch

Or speak to an HR expert on: 0844 327 2293

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Virgin Atlantic Ltd 2023 Financial Results Record Revenues Propel Airline’s Recovery

3rd April 2024

Virgin Atlantic Ltd (Virgin Atlantic) has released its annual financial results for the year ending 31st December 2023. Results reflect progress made in a year of sustained customer demand, as the airline capitalised on continued desire for premium leisure air travel and holidays. Virgin Atlantic reported record total revenue of £3.1 billion, up £265 million versus 2022. Continued cost discipline, combined with enhanced fleet utilisation, contributed towards record Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of £352 million. Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) of £80 million surpassed 2019 results, achieving a key milestone on the path to sustainable profitability. Losses before tax and exceptional items narrowed to (£139) million from (£206) million in the previous year and Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability in 2024. Virgin Atlantic ended the year with a robust cash position of £406 million, up from £399 million in 2022. The end of 2023 marked the midpoint of Velocityx, the airline’s four-year strategic plan, supporting its mission to become the most loved travel company and sustainably profitable. The 2023 financial, commercial and operational results illustrate that Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability in 2024. 

Full Year 2023 Financial Results Summary

• Virgin Atlantic carried 5.3m passengers in 2023, with a load factor of 77%
• Passenger capacity (ASKs) ended the year 16% higher than 2022 with 23,720 sectors flown on 41 aircraft – up from 23,551 sectors in 2019 on 45 aircraft, demonstrating continued growth in fleet utilisation
• Due to robust customer demand for premium leisure air travel and holidays, 2023 passenger revenue was reported at £2.4 billion – the highest on record and up £323 million versus 2022, despite corporate travel being slower to return to pre-pandemic levels
• Industry leading operational performance resulted in a flight completion factor of 99.7%, a punctuality score at Heathrow Airport ten points ahead of industry average, and for a seventh consecutive year, recognition as Britain’s only Five Star Airline from APEX
• With new routes launched to Turks & Caicos and the Maldives, and the return to Dubai, Virgin Atlantic Holidays met sustained demand for premium sun destinations, carrying 231k holiday makers in 2023
• Virgin Atlantic Cargo delivered revenue of £196m, operating 158k tonnes of cargo, down from 191 tonnes in 2022 as markets normalised post pandemic with lower yields
• Continued cost discipline resulted in total airline non-fuel costs of £1.8bn and an airline nonfuel cost per ASK (NFCASK) of 3.98p, up from 3.76p in 2022
• £80m EBIT surpassed 2019 performance, reflecting the combination of record revenue performance, enhanced fleet utilisation and disciplined costs
• Virgin Atlantic ended the year with an improved total cash position of £406m, after refinancing £41m and paying down more than £98m of debt
• In November the airline operated Flight100, the world’s first transatlantic flight on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Following the flight, Virgin Atlantic was awarded Gold rating by the Centre for Aviation (CAPA) in its 2023 Airline Sustainability Benchmarking
• Virgin Atlantic was recognised with #1 ranking in Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces 2023, for a second consecutive year.

Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic, commented: “In 2023, we capitalised on continued strong demand for leisure air travel and holidays, which shows that desire for experiences and travel remains, resulting in record revenues. A loss is never satisfactory; however, our performance and results illustrate that we have made really good progress in 2023, the plan is working, and Virgin Atlantic is on course to return to profitability in 2024.

“My gratitude goes to our teams, who go above and beyond to deliver an amazing experience, making our customers smile every day. At the midpoint of Velocityx, our four-year strategic plan, and as we gear up to mark 40 years of flying in June, our commitment and belief in our vision of becoming most loved travel company and sustainably profitable is stronger than ever. 2024 is the turning point for Virgin Atlantic, the culmination of our transformation and the year we make it count.”

Oli Byers, CFO, Virgin Atlantic, commented: “2023 financial results reflect a year when our team delivered record revenue and a return to pre-pandemic EBIT performance. Importantly we narrowed losses and set up a return to profitability in 2024. “Our financial, commercial and operational performance demonstrates that our plan is working, despite the challenges of inflation, rising interest rates, and higher fuel and energy prices. “In 2023, we flew more sectors than 2019 with four fewer aircraft, illustrating the efficiency of our fleet today. Combined with continued cost discipline and protecting cash, these actions ensure we are positioned to return to profitability in 2024. As customer demand for travel endures, we will go further this year by welcoming six new aircraft and capacity growth of 12%, while maintaining cost discipline as always, targeting record revenues and operating profit.” 

Notes to Editors For further press information please contact:

Virgin Atlantic press office on [email protected] or call (+44) 01293 747373.

Forward-looking statements:

Certain statements included in this announcement are forward-looking. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts. By their nature, they involve risk and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this announcement are based upon information known to the company on the date of this announcement and speak as of the date of this announcement.

About Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2023, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain’s only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the seventh year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs 8,500 people worldwide, flying customers to 30 destinations across four continents throughout the year. Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to over 200 cities around the world. In February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers. Virgin Atlantic joined SkyTeam in March 2023 as the global airline alliance’s first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance’s transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester Airport. Virgin Atlantic has been pioneering sustainability leadership for more than 15 years, committing to Net Zero by 2050 and continuous action that reduces environmental impact. The airline operates one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the skies, with an average age under seven years. In March 2024, Virgin Atlantic welcomed Wendy Darling, the 11th delivery of 12 A350s, and Ruby Rebel, the 5th of 16 A330-900neos to the fleet, continuing its transformation towards 100% next generation aircraft by 2028. In November 2023, the airline led a consortium to deliver the world’s first flight across the Atlantic on 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), demonstrating that 100% SAF can be used safely as a drop in fuel in existing infrastructure, engines and airframes. The need to scale production is imperative and Virgin Atlantic is committed to radical collaboration across the energy chain to support commercialisation ahead of 2030. For more information visit www.virginatlantic.com or via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @virginatlantic.