Virgin crew costs. Sorry, but just because it is written on a CAA web site, or any other web site for that matter, doesn't mean I have to believe it. And I err on the don't quite believe it side of things. Where do the CAA get there figures from? direct from airlines? Virgin in particular is a private company and not a PLC, it doesn't need, nor I believe, to publish its costs.
Can we put this to bed?
The Virgin costs
do include all cash allowances. Virgin accounts, despite being a private company, are all posted on the Companies House website, where all accounts for every UK company and LLP are published. The detailed data breakdown that is provided to the CAA is audited by KPMG, their auditor, and includes all employee costs irrespective of how they are paid, and is prepared in accordance with accounting standards.
No big conspiracy there at the CAA - they have all the real data they need.
Their note is:
Expenditure Total expenditure for the salaries and allowances of all employees. Included are gross salary (before deduction of income tax, pension social welfare and voluntary payments), overtime pay, sales commissions, flying pay and subsistence allowances, (such as cost of living allowances, station and overseas allowances) and all crew hourly flight allowances (i.e. those in excess of travel and incidental expenses).
The following are excluded:- Employers National Insurance Contributions, all payroll based employer cost such as life and permanent health insurance, agency staff not on the payroll, and expenses for travelling, moving, training, uniform’s etc.