Sir Richard Branson has said it was a “dreadful mistake” to remove the bars on his Virgin Atlantic aircraft and has vowed to bring them back.
When questioned what the airline needed to do to rediscover its innovative spirit, the billionaire entrepreneur responded: “We’re be bringing back the bar as soon as we possibly can.”
Virgin flights ditched their bar services in 2019 in favour of the “loft”, which formed a bench between the Upper Class seats and premium economy.
Refusing to answer why the decision had been made to forgo the bar in the first place, Sir Richard told The Times: “If we make a mistake, let’s own up to it quickly and sort it. That’s what we’ll do.”
His comments come ahead of Virgin Atlantic’s 40th birthday on 22 June, after it first began to operate between Gatwick airport and New York in 1984.
To mark the occasion, the 73-year-old founder is throwing a celebratory event for Virgin executives and long-standing members of staff, in which they will travel to Las Vegas for a ‘Love at first flight’ pool party.
Virgin has also launched its fifth Airbus A330neo in March, with an icon named Ruby Rebel pictured at the helm to pay tribute to Sir Richard’s career.
The punk styling reflects the airline’s signature Vivienne Westwood uniform, while the letters J, S, and H are visible in a nod to the founder’s wife Jean and two children’s initials.
He has also finalised his succession plan, announcing that he wants his son Sam, 39, and daughter Holly, 42, to take over the airline.
“Every decade we’ve had people talking about the Virgin Atlantic brand disappearing,” Branson says. “It will outlive myself and, hopefully, outlive my children and grandchildren as well.”
“I plan to keep it in the family and they plan to keep it in the family.”
Sir Richard’s Virgin Group owns 51 per cent of Virgin Atlantic, with the remaining 49 per cent share is owned by Delta Air Lines.
In recent years, it has taken a tumble in profits in comparison to the Gulf carriers such as Emirates airways, while its arch-rival British Airways has invested billions to improve their services.
The last time Virgin made a profit was in 2016, and it has struggled to regain its pandemic losses, recording a pre-tax loss of £139m last year.