BTN Europe editor Andy Hoskins sat down with Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss at IATA¡¯s 2025 AGM in New Delhi at the beginning of June to discuss the airline¡¯s evolving footprint in India, its core transatlantic operations, Heathrow¡¯s challenges, the pace of business travel¡¯s recovery, and how NDC and alternative aviation fuels are shaping the airline¡¯s future.

Virgin Atlantic¡¯s name may pay homage to its core North American market, but its expanding network in India signals a commitment to long-haul growth across both east and west.

¡°We¡¯ve been operating into India for 25 years and we now have one million seats a year,¡± says the airline¡¯s CEO Shai Weiss. The growth has been rapid. ¡°In 2019, we had only one flight to Delhi. Now we operate five flights a day to India [from the UK]. That shows you the opportunity here.¡±

That potential is underpinned by demographics and data that Weiss shared at a press conference in Delhi in which Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and fast-growing Indian airline IndiGo announced a strategic partnership that will connect their networks.

Some 4.5 million passengers a year travel between the UK and India, while around seven million travel between the US and India, said Weiss. Meanwhile, less than 10 per cent of India¡¯s population has a passport and the country¡¯s economy grew by 7.4 per cent in the first quarter of the year. ¡°The opportunity for growth here is phenomenal,¡± says Weiss.

Virgin¡¯s footprint in India comprises twice-daily services from London Heathrow to both Delhi and Mumbai, while a daily service to the tech hub of Bengaluru took-off in April 2024. That route is performing ¡°all to plan,¡± according to Weiss, despite the fierce competitive environment. ¡°These are tough markets; there¡¯s a lot of competition. As soon as we announce we¡¯re doing something, you see others increase their capacity.¡±

The transatlantic picture

While India¡¯s potential is future-facing, Virgin¡¯s financial lifeline remains its transatlantic business, especially to the United States. Its 2024 financial results revealed ¡°another year of record revenues, record EBITDA, record operating profits and a return to modest profit,¡± says Weiss.

¡°We all know the journey that Virgin Atlantic has been on through the pandemic. I think the most important number ¨C beyond the customer satisfaction [score], which is always highest across our competitors ¨C was the fact that our operating profit was ?230 million, which gave us about a 7 per cent margin. That puts us on a page slightly ahead of easyJet and Air France,¡± he noted.

The airline's 2024 financial results also stated that 40 per cent of its revenue originated in the US ¨C double that of a decade ago, says Weiss, though political developments in 2025 could threaten that achievement.

A ¡°phenomenal¡± Q1 was followed in April by a ¡°shakeup and great uncertainty¡± in the wake of US President Donald Trump¡¯s drastic trade tariffs. ¡°The volumes are there but what we¡¯re seeing is a bit of pressure on price,¡± says Weiss. ¡°I don¡¯t think this year¡¯s going to end up as we expected it to be... there's greater uncertainty yet to come. We're all waiting to see what happens with the stay of execution [on the tariffs].¡±

Weiss highlights his airline¡¯s resilience, however, pointing to 9/11, the global financial crisis and the Covid pandemic as more significant challenges that the carrier has seen off. ¡°Uncertainty comes and goes and we continue. When we look at our operation and how we run the company, there¡¯s not much I would change. We compete hard and we¡¯re doing quite well versus the competition.¡±

Corporate conundrums

Nevertheless, there is more work to be done, says Weiss, with announcements due later in the year ¡°to explain some tweaks¡± that will support ¡°greater profitability in the years to come¡±.

¡°We¡¯ll talk in July; it¡¯s nothing major,¡± says Weiss, who declined to provide further details. ¡°It's very much the continuation of a premium carrier. It will reinforce our position as a premium carrier focused both on the leisure market as our traditional heartland, but over the last decade we've become a really solid business carrier too, of course, in line with Delta and Air France KLM.¡±

It's well-documented that, while premium leisure travel drove many airlines¡¯ post-Covid recovery, corporate travel has been slower to return, with companies watching budgets and considering their sustainability strategies.

Nevertheless, Weiss remains optimistic about a full recovery in business travel. ¡°Our target was to be in the mid-80s [per cent recovered] in 2024 and I think we¡¯re there. When do we get to 100 per cent? That¡¯s hard to say right now, but I do think we will get there, whether it¡¯s this year or probably the next or following year.¡±

He continues: ¡°Behaviourally, we're seeing that there is a real quest to meet and to make an impact on each other. The more time that passes since pandemic, the greater the desire to be together in person, so I'm not in doubt that we will get to 100 per cent.¡±

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Speaking out on Heathrow

Weiss doesn¡¯t pull any punches when it comes to discussing London¡¯s Heathrow Airport. He, along with many airline CEOs, has been critical of the hub¡¯s high costs, service delivery and monopoly position.

In February, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways¡¯ parent company IAG, the Arora Group and the Heathrow Airline Operators¡¯ Committee (AOC) came together to launch Heathrow Reimagined: A better hub for Britain, calling for ¡®urgent and fundamental reform¡¯ of the airport¡¯s regulatory model.

Matters were made worse in March when a fire at a local substation caused a power outage that forced the airport to close for most of the day, exposing the airport¡¯s vulnerable contingency plans.

In May, Weiss and Luis Gallego, the CEO of British Airways¡¯ parent company IAG, conducted a rare joint interview with The Times in which they demanded greater influence in investment decisions and control of airport infrastructure.

Weiss confirmed Virgin Atlantic is seeking compensation from Heathrow for the disruption caused by the airport closure, but says it is not doing so ¡°out of spite¡± but out of a ¡°shared vision for the future¡±. He adds: ¡°We¡¯ve been very clear with our partners that the disruption cost us a lot of money. We expect them to do the right thing.¡±

The airline has reviewed the Kelly report into the incident and sees room for improvement. ¡°The most important observation was on the resilience of [the airport's] energy systems. That needs addressing,¡± says Weiss.

But his criticism is constructive. ¡°This is our home. Everything we¡¯re doing is out of a shared vision for the future,¡± he says. ¡°The point that we're making about Heathrow is about how you run an efficient airport in one of the most, if not the most attractive channel in the world, which we are a flag carrier at. We have a very strong partnership with Heathrow, [but] we want them to improve because it's important to us, our guests and the country.¡±

Virgin¡¯s position on the addition of a third runway at Heathrow remains conditional. ¡°Does the country deserve it? Yes. Should it be operated? Yes,¡± says Weiss. ¡°The point is, how do you change the regulatory environment for better outcomes for consumers? And how do you incentivise Heathrow to be more efficient? If we get it right, it's a tremendous opportunity. The flip side is, if you just stay with the status quo, it's simply not fit for purpose.¡±

NDC's ponderous progress

The speed of airlines¡¯ roll-out of IATA¡¯s New Distribution Capability initiative has varied greatly, but Virgin is among the slower adopters. While others have moved quickly ¨C sometimes too quickly ¨C Virgin is gearing up to distribute NDC content via aggregators in the second half of this year. NDC content integrated via the GDSs is expected to follow, but the airline declined to provide further information when asked for more details on the roll-out.

¡°This is modern retailing. It's the ability to provide flexibility and ancillary services for individuals ¨C whether through a TMC or directly ¨C and to mix and match a journey that is fitting for them. This is all about personalisation,¡± says Weiss, admitting that ¡°it is also a cost thing¡± that can help airlines¡¯ reduce their distribution costs and increase revenues.

Weiss concedes that Virgin and its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines have ¡°moved a bit slower than some of our competitors,¡± before adding that others ¡°have gone too fast¡± ¨C referring to American Airlines¡¯ dramatic U-turn last year.

Virgin¡¯s systems run on Delta¡¯s technology and platform. ¡°We benefit from that stability,¡± says Weiss, noting that full offer-order capabilities ¨C what he calls ¡°the holy grail¡± ¨C will take time.

The alternative fuels dilemma

Virgin Atlantic continues to be a vocal leader in the adoption of alternative aviation fuels ¨C commonly referred to as sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) ¨C and proudly operated a flight between London and New York in November 2023 powered entirely by SAF.

Both the UK and EU have introduced SAF mandates which, in the first instance, require airlines to ensure 2 per cent of fuel used in 2025 is alternative aviation fuel. The airline will ¡°absolutely¡± meet that requirement this year, says Weiss, but highlights supply issues and the challenging adoption curve.

¡°In the short term it¡¯s actually ok, but then it gets complicated,¡± he says. ¡°If you allow for HEFA, which is first generation bio SAF, it's going to be a bit easier to fulfil. Second generation fuel, which is supposed to come from ¡®27 and ¡®28 is not abundant at all. And that's really the point of our discussions with the government.¡±

In the UK, the alternative fuel mandate increases linearly to 10 per cent by 2030 and to 22 per cent by 2040. ¡°It¡¯s an ambitious plan and we think it¡¯s going to be a problem in the UK. But the UK and Europe have not changed their opinions on it, and neither are we. My statement is always true: you make it, we'll fly it.¡±