British-based airline Virgin Atlantic has reported a profit before tax and exceptional items of GBP14.4 million ($21.2 million) in 2014, as against a pre-tax loss of GBP51 million ($75.1 million) in the previous year.

This represents an improvement of GBP65.4 million ($96.3 million) on the previous year’s financial performance.

The results confirm that Virgin Atlantic has delivered on the target it set in February 2013 to return to profit within two years, a statement said, adding that the airline is now looking to the future and positioning the business for future growth and sustained profitability whilst making significant investment in customer experience.

For the third consecutive year, passenger satisfaction scores have increased, with an 11 per cent improvement since 2012, the statement said.

The airline’s on time performance remains high with 85.5 per cent of flights departing within 15 minutes of schedule. Virgin Atlantic remains focused on delivering the best possible experience and service to its customers enhanced by a GBP300m investment in this area by 2018.

“We want to be the airline most loved by our customers by always putting them at the centre of everything we do. These profitable results mark the successful conclusion of our recovery period and have put firm foundations in place for the future. We are confident that we have the right fleet, network and partners in place to be more profitable than ever before by 2018,” said chief executive Craig Kreeger.

“We had a clearly defined strategy to transform the financial performance of the business and everyone involved can be rightly proud that we delivered that in a rigorous timeframe, while investing in continuous improvements to our passengers’ experience. I would like to thank our customers for their support, and our people for delivering the exceptional customer service that remains uniquely Virgin Atlantic.”

Virgin Atlantic and its customers gained significant benefit from its joint venture partnership with Delta Air Lines, launched in January 2014. Over 4.5million passengers flew on joint venture services in its first year of operation and the two airlines expect this number to continue to grow in 2015.

The partnership’s total number of code share routes recently increased to 484 and its peak daily transatlantic services will rise to 39 from summer 2015. This includes ten daily departures between London and New York – the world’s busiest business travel market.

The airline will introduce new routes this summer between Manchester and Atlanta, London Heathrow and Detroit, and London Gatwick and Tobago, as well as a series of seasonal flights between Belfast and Orlando and Glasgow and Las Vegas. There will also be increased frequency in services between Heathrow and major US destinations including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York.

Virgin Holidays' revenue and profit improvements were driven by a strong performance in its key North American market, where turnover grew by more than 10 per cent, and disciplined cost control across the business. The company also enjoyed a four-point increase in its Net Promoter Score.

During 2014, it implemented a new five-year plan to drive customer satisfaction, staff engagement and profitability to record levels by 2019.

Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson, said: “I can’t think of a better way to complete our 30th birthday year than with a return to profit. The team at Virgin Atlantic has done a great job in turning around the airline and has the right strategy to take the business from strength to strength.  Keeping our customers and our people at the heart of everything we do gives me great confidence in our future and I look forward to the next 30 years.”

Nick Parker, Virgin Atlantic head of India and Middle East, said: “We have taken some tough decisions to transform the financial performance of our business and return to profitability in 2014 while ensuring that we continued to invest in areas that matter to our customers, delivering an 11 per cent improvement in customer satisfaction since 2012.”

“We have been flying to Dubai for 9 years and are really excited about the year ahead for our customers as we build on the success of 2014.

"Our UAE customers enjoy the more personalised experience that we are able to offer and we are confident that the additional GBP300 million (4442 million) we plan to invest will further enhance their experience while continuing to attract new customers as we see further strengthening of our customer satisfaction scores,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service