The Virgin Atlantic Experience

Transcription

Annual Report 2017The Virgin Atlanticexperience

The Virgin AtlanticexperienceWith our pioneering spirit andhuman touch, we want everyoneto share our passion for flying.Our strategy to ensure sustainablegrowth is delivering an irresistiblecustomer experience.ContentsSTRATEGIC REPORT2017 highlights 1Group at a glance 2Our flight network 4Our irresistible experience 6Chairman’s statement 12Chief Executive Officer’s Q&A 14Chief Financial Officer’s review 18Market review 22Our strategy 24Strategic review 26Our key performance indicators 30Sustainability 34Principal risks and uncertainties 38GOVERNANCEBoard of Directors Leadership team Committees of the Board Directors’ report Directors’ responsibility statement 4246485052FINANCIAL STATEMENTSIndependent auditor’s report Financial statements 5355OTHER INFORMATIONCorporate structure 87Glossary 88LEARN MOREFor more information please visit:www.virginatlantic.com

2017 A great yearfor our customers5.2.73#1in customer satisfactionfor UK-US traffic1million397kpassengersflownVirgin Holidays customers bnin revenue230mkilograms of cargo transported1. IATA airs@t transatlantic 2017.Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 20171

Group at a glanceWorking together to providea unique experienceWe have a simple goal – by beinguniquely Virgin Atlantic, we want to bethe airline most loved by our customers.We are achieving this through realisingthe full potential of our transatlanticJoint Venture with Delta Air Lines, Inc(Delta), maximising opportunities withVirgin Holidays, as well as empoweringour people with the right skills and toolsto deliver that unique Virgin Atlanticexperience.Highlights5.3mEmployees 2.7bnOTPpassengers flown this year, down 0.1m year on yeartotal revenue, 1% down year on yearNPSnet promoter score improved by 5pts year on yearJoint Ventureoffers over 200 destinations between the UK and theUS, providing 35% share of total UK-US capacityWe announced our intention to launch an expandedtransatlantic Joint Venture with Air France-KLM andDelta Air Lines9,823 people across the Group1We achieved our on-time performance (OTP) metrics,including 79% of flights arriving within 15 minutesof schedule, 2.3% down compared to prior yearFleetWe became the first carrier in Europe to offer Wi-Fiacross our entire fleetWe are the first airline to offer an accessible inflightentertainment system for customers with sight loss10 A330 Upper Class cabins refreshedNetworkAdded new routes from ManchesterLaunched new daily service to SeattleExtended Flybe codeshare to Heathrow, and JetAirways codeshare to our transatlantic flightsVirgin Atlantic’s international cargooperations is focused on deliveringconsistency and reliability for itscustomers across the globe.The offering spans general freight,express courier, automotive, pets,perishables and pharmaceuticalsover 500 destinations.1. As at 31 December 2017.2Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017Highlights230.5mkilograms of cargo transportedLaunchednew Pharma Zone at Heathrow to servepharmaceuticals market

Built on a belief that ‘everyone can takeon the world’, Virgin Holidays givesaspiring adventurers the confidenceto make their holiday dreams real.Offering a differentiated experience anda brand that’s known and trusted as theconsumer champion, Virgin Holidays isa leading tour operator to the US andCaribbean, as well as offering holidaysto other popular long haul destinations.HighlightsWinnerDeparture BeachCustomersExperiencesof three British Travel Awards and two Silver Awards,voted by UK consumers397,000 in 2017, 1.5% growth year on yearOnline4% growth year on year in online distribution mixRetailOpened a further v-room retail store in Cardiff and ournew concept store in StevenageNPSLaunch of the world’s first Departure Beach,due to open May 2018supported by the HoliDOs campaign – ‘it’s not whereyou go, it’s what you do’ – the largest new productlaunch in our historyInclusivityLaunched single parent holidays and introduced anew policy to address captive dolphins and whales.Supported the Caribbean with the recovery effort andhelped to reignite tourism following Hurricane Irmascore increased by 3pts year on year reflecting highercustomer satisfactionVirgin Atlantic Annual Report 20173

Our flight networkExpanding our reachOn top of the 200 destinations offered through our Joint Venture with Delta, this yearwe swapped our Detroit service with Delta’s Seattle service to optimise market demandand meet customer preferences. Our Flybe codeshare expanded to include their newHeathrow-Scotland services, adding feed for our Heathrow flights and improving traveloptions for our Scottish customers. We expanded our Jet Airways partnership to coverUS-India flying as well as ten new India and South East Asia destinations. We alsoannounced a codeshare with Virgin Australia, creating all-Virgin travel experiencesbetween the UK and Australia, expected to start in March 2018.BelfastSeattlePortlandSalt Lake CityMinneapolis / St Paul42111050Los AngelesDetroitLas VegasAtlanta8669CancunBoston4New York / n row/Gatwick3HavanaMontego BayGrenada2AntiguaSt. LuciaBarbados3TobagoLagosJohannesburgVirgin Atlantic operatedDelta Air Lines operatedRoute operated byDelta, Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Australia2074Number of onwardDelta connectionsfrom this hubVirgin Atlantic Annual Report 20171. PHL: Service ceases 3 May 2018.2. GND/TAB: Operates as tag flights from UVF.3. BGI: Served from both LHR and LGW, butLHR service only operates until 24 Feb 2018.4. BOS: MANBOS operates summer season only.5. SFO: MANSFO operates summer season only.6. Planned launch March 2018.7. SYD: HKGSYD from 2 July 2018. Subject to regulatory approval.

elfastManchesterHannoverManchesterEast MidlandsKnockBirminghamLondonHeathrowLondonNewquay ParisMilanJerseyAir ChinaVirgin AustraliaBeijingCairnsChengduBrisbaneShanghaiGold CoastSydneyWenzhouChongqingAdelaideMelbourne CanberraBeijingHobartAir New ZealandJet AirwaysShanghaiDelhiHong KongHong ozhikodeKochiSingaporeHong chThiruvananthapuramsgeleAnLosColomboBrisbaneFlybe (codeshare)PerthFranciscoRarotongaCook ourneAucklandVirgin Australia6 (codeshare)Singapore Airlines (codeshare)Air China (codeshare)Jet Airways (codeshare)Air New Zealand (codeshare)Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 20175

Our irresistible experienceCountdown:excitement onthe ground6Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017

From our very first booking more thanthirty years ago, our customers havebeen at the heart of our business.We take delight in delivering our servicewith flair – embracing the human spiritand letting it fly.In 2017, we continued to focus on whatmakes us different, which is the way we takecare of our customers – offering irresistibleexperiences at a competitive price. Thisstarts from when a customer visits us online,by phone or in a Virgin Holidays retailstore to book a journey. It continues witha friendly, seamless check-in and aninnovative experience at our uniqueairside Clubhouses and v-rooms.This year, we continued to invest in ourcustomer experience – after all, it’s whatmakes us stand out from the pack.Enabling an effortlesscustomer experiencePutting the customer first drives ourtechnology investments and our passengerservice system AIR4, which is a sharedplatform with Delta, is helping us delivera seamless service. Launched in 2016, wecontinued to invest in 2017 to deliver morefunctionality – from easy to use, engagingmobile apps to a simple to navigate website– to meet the needs of our customers.Reaping rewards withour Delta Joint VentureAround half a million passengers tookadvantage of our connections to more than200 destinations between the UK and theUS, including 13 flights per day from UKcities to New York. Adopting the DeltaVIPER rebooking system changed the gamefor us in providing an improved customerexperience during flight disruption – whichproved its worth during North America’shurricane season this year.In Los Angeles, we were pleased towelcome Delta into Terminal 2 where we’reboth now located. This enables us to offerbetter connectivity and a heightenedexperience for our passengers across theWest Coast.Getting that VirginHolidays feelingWith us, a great holiday experiencestarts long before you get on a VirginAtlantic plane.We sought new ways to inspire customersthrough an innovative partnership with ITV’sSaturday Night Takeaway and Disney.Building on the success of our standaloneretail v-room stores, we opened a furtherstore in Cardiff and refreshed 13 of ourconcession stores. They are all designed foran inspiring and relaxed booking experience.We’ve also overhauled our customercommunications and developed moreintuitive ways for customers to managetheir travel plans for a stress-free trip.Our Clubhousesand v-roomsTo take that unique Virgin experienceairside, this year we launched a fantasticnew Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse and VirginHolidays v-room at Gatwick North Terminal.And at our Heathrow Clubhouse, wecompleted extensive refurbishments toenhance the dining experience and createnew spaces for Upper Class and Delta Onepassengers to enjoy. In December, we tookthings over the top (literally) with a ‘pop-up’igloo on the roof of the Clubhouse. This wasthe first of many planned projects tore-ignite our customer experience andgarnered over 20 million media impressionsand fantastic feedback from our customers.200 destinations betweenthe UK and USVirgin Atlantic Annual Report 20177

Our irresistible experience continuedTake off:effortless servicein the air8Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017

The unique Virgin Atlantic experiencereally takes off in the air – and it’s notjust about the destination. With us,the journey really is part of the fun.Enhancing the experienceCleaner, quieter aircraftWe continued to invest to make VirginAtlantic a special experience, no matterwhere our customers sit on the plane. Frompersonalised, warm and friendly serviceaided by investments in great hand-heldtechnology for our crew and fleet-wideWi-Fi, to engaging inflight entertainmentand great food. We also refitted our A330Upper Class cabin and bar.But it is not only the customer experiencethat counts. It’s also about doing our verybest to be a responsible airline, investing tomake the aircraft that takes you where youwant to be cleaner, greener and quieter.And with key onboard catering processesnow digitised, we can get quicker feedbackwhen we introduce new menus, as well asimproved turnaround times for customersrequiring a special dietary meal on theirnext trip.Getting you there on timeWe continued our journey to transformour fleet to more efficient new twin-engineaircraft – helping to reduce ourenvironmental footprint and saving us costs.We took delivery of our 14th 787 aircraft andpreparations for the introduction of 12 newA350s from 2019 continued apace.We will take delivery of our last three 787sin 2018, making 17 in total. Our first A350sarrive from 2019 and by 2021 we will havereplaced our entire fleet in ten years.We want to make sure that whatever yourreason for travel, we get you there when wesay we will. That is why we are so focusedon on-time performance and this year withDelta we maintained our position as the twomost punctual airlines across the Atlanticfrom Heathrow.1stcarrier in Europeto offer Wi-Fi acrossour entire fleetVirgin Atlantic Annual Report 20179

Our irresistible experience continuedOnward journey:personalisedexperiences on arrival10Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017

On arrival, Virgin Holidayscontinues the customerexperience with true Virgin flair.We are focused on enhancing the journeyevery step of the way – from the airportarrival to the last day of your holiday, thenreintegrating with reality back home. Ourdeep strategic relationships with trustedpartners and product suppliers enable ourguests to benefit from extra special touches,while maintaining the highest standardsof service and health and safety.The Virgin HolidaysexperienceHolidays are whatever our customers wantthem to be – relaxing poolside with acocktail in hand, intimate times with lovedones, fun times for the kids, or just a flat-out,non-stop adrenaline rush. All our VirginHolidays can be tailored to match theunique needs of each individual customer.To celebrate this we temporarily rebrandedas Virgin HoliDOs for a campaign that said‘it’s not where you go, it’s what you do’ toshowcase the launch of a fantastic range of300 new Experiences to help customers getthe most from their holidays.Life’s a beachWith us, we want it to seem like the holidaynever ends. So, this year we announced thelaunch of the world’s first Departure Beachat Carlisle Bay, Barbados. Coming in 2018,customers will be able to check in, drop theirbags and get their boarding passes. Seaside– instead of airside – they can enjoy afull-service bar, tuck in to a spot of lunch,and of course go for a refreshing dip if ittakes their fancy – with towels and showersprovided before they’re whisked straight toairport security.Help is at handLaunched this year in Orlando and Dubaiour v-hub concept lounges are wherecustomers can get help from our Holidayreps and relax while waiting to check intotheir room or before getting onto their flight.After all, a holiday should never be stressful.Flying Club – moreadventures, more oftenWith our Flying Club, it’s all about earningmiles and tier points to spend on greatrewards. And as the only UK airline to offermileage redemptions on a Holiday packagethrough Virgin Holidays, the points canmount up more quickly and be ready to bespent with a whole world of partners in theair and on the ground.Intuitive serviceBy pairing Customer RelationshipManagement (CRM) technology with ourloyalty and reservations systems, we areable to tailor our customers’ journeys totheir individual preferences – from bookingto returning home. For example, we canpre-inform our cabin crew to congratulate acouple who are travelling on honeymoon orhelp smooth the journey of a nervous flyer.By linking CRM with a Single CustomerView, our team has the tools to give ourcustomers that unique Virgin Atlantic andVirgin Holidays experience and extend therelationship once customers return home.1stLaunch of the world’sfirst Departure Beach,due to open May 2018Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 201711

Chairman’s statementDelivering our strategyWe continued to deliver greatexperiences for our customerswhile being focused on buildingthe platform for sustainablegrowth.2017 was the third year of delivery of our Plan to Winprogramme. The strategy has continued to delivergreat benefits operationally and to our customers.These improvements are the bedrock of our plan tobuild a sustainable business.Our transatlantic Joint Venture partnership with Deltaagain performed very well. We took advantage of thestrong Dollar to welcome more Americans to the UKand adjusted our networks so to best serve themarkets for our different brands.We continued our four year 300m programme ofinvestment to improve customer experience whichwill complete in 2018. We maintained industry-leadingon-time performance, efficiently managed thedisruptions caused by the Caribbean Hurricaneseason and launched more than 300 new VirginHolidays Experiences. A core principle of our businessis to create the conditions which enable our peopleto be at their best in delivering the service that ourcustomers love. Our people engagement score hasimproved. Achieving further improvement in 2018is a top priority.We have been very pleased by the positive feedbackfrom customers which our efforts have earned.Virgin Atlantic and Delta maintained the #1 and#2 spots in customer satisfaction rankings for UK-UStraffic. Virgin Holidays’ NPS score increased by afurther 3 points.While investing in customer experience, we havealso continued to improve efficiency and unit costs.Airline operating costs before exceptional items havereduced year on year by 103.5m1, and airline unitoperating cost improved by 2.9%. Lower fuel pricesmade a contribution to this, but improved operatingefficiency also made a significant contribution. Thefit.nimble efficiency programme started in 2015 hasachieved annual savings of over 82m at this point.Our resultsThere were many challenges in 2017 for UK-basedairlines. The declining value of Sterling dampeneddemand for travel from the UK and increased thecost of imported items. Lower Sterling means higherdomestic inflation and this will erode discretionaryincomes in the UK at a time of continuing politicaland economic uncertainty, as the Brexit issue remainsunresolved. However our success so far in executingPlan to Win means that we are more resilient inadverse environments than we were. Our 2017performance demonstrated this. Nevertheless, afterfour years of consistent improvement and threesuccessive years of profit, it is most frustrating toreport a loss of 28.4m on ordinary activities beforetax and exceptional items.212Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017

Strategic reportI am very glad to be able to report that we continuedto improve our environmental performance. Weachieved a 1.8% reduction in our headline carbonefficiency measure in 2017, and reduced our totalcarbon emissions by 2.5% compared to last year.The arrival of our last three 787s on order in 2018, tobe followed by 12 A350s from 2019 will deliver furthercarbon efficiencies and reductions in our noise impact.Our customers and our people continue to providemost generous support for our charity and non-profitpartnerships. Virgin Atlantic Foundation’s onboardChange for Children appeal raised 680,000 and ourannual employee fundraising campaign raised almost 170,000 for our much-loved partner WE. Thanksto the generosity of Virgin Holidays customers, wedonated 200,000 to the Caribbean Branson Centrefor Entrepreneurship in Jamaica and 48,000 tothe Travel Foundation to support sustainabletourism projects.As we said when the deal was announced, VirginAtlantic will continue to be an independent UK airline,flying under the Virgin brand, headquartered in theUK, and operating with a UK Air Operating Certificate.We will continue to invest in our people, the iconicVirgin Atlantic brand and our uniquecustomer experience.Further ahead is the prospect of Heathrow expansion.While a new runway and terminal facilities may not beopen until 2025 or beyond, work on the design of afuture Heathrow is well underway. We will continue tosupport expansion at Heathrow provided that it willenable a significant increase in airline competition atthe airport and offer value in cost terms. Our intentionis to play an even bigger role in delivering choice andoutstanding value for money to consumers at anexpanded Heathrow.GovernanceMy Board colleagues have made a great contributionduring the year. In parting, I would like to thankNathaniel Pieper and wish him very well in his newrole at Delta as Senior Vice President – GlobalAlliances. I welcome from Delta Corneel Koster, SeniorVice President – Europe, Middle East, Africa and Indiato the Board, and Tom Mackay, our CFO, as anAlternate Executive Director.Looking ahead with confidenceOur peopleAs we enter the final year of Plan to Win, the finishingtouches are being put on the next stage of ourstrategy, which will take us into the 2020s. There ismuch to look forward to.On behalf of the Board and shareholders I thank CraigKreeger, his executive team, and all of the people ofVirgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays for their hard workand outstanding commitment to creating amazingexperiences for our customers. There have beensome great achievements during 2017 as weconfronted some very serious external issues. Thismeant that our final result was significantly betterthan it might otherwise have been. But underpinningall these efforts is the service which our peopleprovide day in, day out, throughout the customerjourney. This is what makes Virgin Atlantic and VirginHolidays so special.Partnerships will continue to be the foundation ofour success. Our immediate priority is to concludeagreements and to secure the necessary regulatoryapprovals for our planned expanded transatlanticJoint Venture with Delta and Air France-KLMannounced in July 2017. Completion shouldfollow in 2019.The expanded transatlantic Joint Venture wouldenable the four airlines to offer consumers improvedchoice and competition, an enhanced customerexperience, and convenient flight schedules withcompetitive fares and reciprocal frequentflyer benefits.Partnershipswill continueto be thefoundation ofour success.Financial statementsVirgin Holidays was affected by the same issues, butit is pleasing to report that it produced a profit beforetax and exceptional items of 15.5m (compared to 19.1m in 2016). This was an impressive performance.Our cargo operation was a beneficiary of the weakercurrency which made UK exports more competitiveand so increased revenue by 9.3% year on year.To support the success of the Joint Venture, AirFrance-KLM will acquire a 31% stake in Virgin Atlanticcurrently held by Virgin Group; Virgin Group willretain a 20% stake and Chairmanship; and Delta willretain its 49% stake.GovernanceThere were three big external issues in 2017 for usto deal with which were not in our plan for the year.First, the impact of weaker Sterling; second,unforeseen engine supply issues; and third, the severedisruption to traffic caused by a terrible hurricaneseason in the Caribbean.Peter NorrisChairman14 March 20181. In constant currency.2. Exceptional items are one off events that do not form part of business-as-usual activities. For this reason our measure of profit is profit before tax and exceptional items.They include the reclassification of gains or losses on hedging, restructuring costs and some gains or losses on the disposal of property, plant and equipment. The significantfluctuations in fuel price and foreign exchange and the resulting hedging gains or losses would distort our view of underlying performance.Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 201713

Chief Executive Officer’s Q&ADelivering for ourcustomers in achallenging environmentVirgin Atlantic faced significantmacroeconomic and operationalchallenges in 2017. Here ChiefExecutive Officer Craig Kreegerexplains how the business isresponding to these issues whileremaining focused on meetingthe needs of its customers.14Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017

Strategic reportGovernanceFinancial statementsWhat were Virgin Atlantic’s keyachievements this year?What drives our people is ensuring we deliver ourunique Virgin Atlantic experience for our customers.So, in a year of many highlights, it is fantastic to seeboth Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays achieve highcustomer satisfaction scores despite significantoperational challenges and the difficult economicbackdrop.Once again, with our Joint Venture partners Delta,we have the highest overall passenger satisfactionscores across the Atlantic from Heathrow. I believethis is because our customers love the warm, friendly,personalised service provided by our people, andthey are also responding positively to our continuedinvestment in our product and experience. Fromrefreshed aircraft and a fantastic new combinedv-room and Clubhouse at Gatwick, through to beingthe first European airline to have fleet wide Wi-Fiand the launch of Virgin Holidays Experiences, wecontinued to give customers even more reasons totravel with us. We’ve announced we’ll even offerthem the choice to check in at the beach in 2018,a truly unique experience at our Departure Beachin Barbados.With the continuing success of our Delta Joint Ventureand the newly announced future strategic partnershipwith Air France-KLM and Delta, we are also lookingahead to an exciting future. We want to offercustomers access to the most comprehensivetransatlantic route network, promising expanded flightchoices and enhanced loyalty programme rewards.What makes Virgin Atlanticspecial?For me the answer is simple – our people. They areboth our magic ingredient and our greatest strength.From the very beginning we have sought to enablethem to put the customer at the heart of everythingthey do. Our people are empowered to bethemselves, so that everyone who travels with usreceives a unique, memorable and human experience.Our purpose is to embrace the human spirit and let itfly, and the way that our people deliver this is reallywhat makes us stand out from the pack.With the uncertain political andeconomic situation and currencyfluctuations, how has beingbased in the UK affected thebusiness this year?Revenue was affected by the depreciation of Sterling,attributable to the continuing uncertainty followingthe vote to leave the EU. This not only impactedUK-based customers’ appetite for international travel,it also increased our costs, with the majority priced inUS Dollars.On the flipside, we were able to take positive anddecisive action to capitalise on the fact the UKbecame much more attractive to customers inboundto the UK. From strategic pricing to marketingcampaigns, the team worked hard to grow revenuesin our US and rest of world markets. Thanks to theextended network of our Joint Venture partner Deltain the US, along with their sales presence and brandrecognition, we have seen 20% more US-basedtravellers onboard Virgin Atlantic flights.Once again,with our JointVenturepartners Delta,we have thehighest overallpassengersatisfactionscores acrossthe AtlanticfromHeathrow.The weaker Sterling benefited UK exporters whichmeant our cargo division performed well, with anincrease in tonnage of 6%. Overall, the cargo teamhad an exceptional last quarter resulting in a revenueperformance of 56m, 16% higher than the fourthquarter of 2016.It was also heartening to maintain the greatmomentum in Virgin Holidays. This is testamentto the strength of our business model which placescustomer service, choice, value and experience at thecentre. New initiatives included the launch of a new‘Experience’ range which gives travellers the abilityto create their own bespoke trips. In addition, welaunched our groundbreaking ‘single parent holidays’offering, a first for the long haul holiday market andsomething I am particularly proud of.Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 201715

Chief Executive Officer’s Q&A continuedWhat benefits are you seeingfrom the Delta Joint Venture?I see 2017 as marking a step change in how we haveworked together. I’ve described how we workedtogether to take advantage of the weaker Sterling,but the closeness of our partnership was alsoreflected in our decision to relocate our US HeadOffice alongside Delta’s in Atlanta. Furthermore,we mutually agreed to swap two of our US services,with daily flights to Seattle now operated by VirginAtlantic, and both London to Detroit services byDelta, to better meet customer demand. This showshow we can be adaptable with the Joint Venture tobenefit our customers and, ultimately, our business.Most of all, we share a focus on putting our customersfirst. This year in light of some operational challenges,Delta stepped in at short notice, providing aircraft tohelp us operate services and get our customers totheir destinations as planned.Were there any particularchallenges that the team hadto contend with this year?Operationally, as with many airlines with Rolls-RoyceTrent 1000 engines on their Boeing 787s, we wererequired to adjust to an engine supply issue, broughton by shorter replacement schedules. This requiredsome of our fleet to be out of service for longerperiods than originally expected.16Virgin Atlantic Annual Report 2017To ensure our customers continued to enjoy the bestpossible service, we leased three additional aircraftthat will enter service during 2018. Combined withthe impact of hurricanes Irma and Harvey and fuelprice increases, our bottom line was affected bythese factors.Importantly, as part of our Plan to Win strategy,we have removed over 80 million in costs fromour business over the past three years. This puts usin a far stronger position to mitigate these issues andthe other inevitable challenges that can confront ourindustry. In addition, our passenger revenue peravailable seat kilometre (PRASK) in the fourth quarterof 2017 was up, reversing several years of PRASKdecline. In fact, November and December gave ustwo consecutive months of PRASK growth, for thefirst time since 2014. I am optimistic that this trend willcontinue in 2018.Why is the business strategythe right one?Our faith in the competitive advantage of enablingour people to provide a uniquely Virgin experience atboth Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays continues tobring rewards. This strategy really gives us a uniqueidentity in a crowded and highly competitivemarketplace. It is this key strength that gives me greatconfidence as we face steadily growing competitionfrom our traditional competitors as well as low farelong haul operators.

Strategic reportWhat does doing the right thingmean to you and Virgin Atlantic?Doing business for good is in our Virgin DNA.As an airline, we love being able to bring peopletogether, delivering incredible experiences andsupporting a globally connected world. Howeverthis does not come without environmental impacts.Reducing our carbon emissions is not only the rightthing to do for the environment and generations tocome, with fuel our largest single cost, it also makesperfect business sense. For this reason, along withenhancing our customers’ experience, we haveundertaken a massive investment programme, toreplace our entire fleet over a ten year period andswitch from four-engine aircraft to a full two-engineaircraft fleet.This year we took delivery of an additional 787 andpreparations for introducing our new 12 A3

store to book a journey. It continues with a friendly, seamless check-in and an innovative experience at our unique airside Clubhouses and v-rooms. This year, we continued to invest in our customer experience - after all, it's what makes us stand out from the pack. Enabling an effortless customer experience Putting the customer first drives our