Virgin Atlantic profits

Now very much in partnership with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic said last week its annual profit almost doubled in 2015, and was set to grow significantly in 2016 as its fuel hedges unwind, enabling it to benefit fully from the lower oil prices.

The airline, 51 percent owned by founder Sir Richard Branson and 49 percent by Delta, posted annual pretax profits of £22.5m in 2015, compared to the £12.4m the previous year.

While the airline was helped by a 34% fall in the crude price last year, that benefit was limited by horrendous hedging losses which amounted to £198m.

Virgin also said it was helped by the growth of its joint-venture relationship with Delta on transatlantic services. With British Airways annoucing that Gatwick is being added to its Heathrow flights, the cancellation of that route is being questioned as is its pulling out of Mumbai, Tokyo and Sydney to the east. www.virginatlantic.com

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