Branson is a disgrace. Instead of taking cash out he should be reinvesting it in the airline to keep it going instead of going cap in hand to the govt for a handout. After all he can't take it with him!!

To be fair SRB did step in twice to save the airline -
In the 90's he sold Virgin Records to prop up Virgin Atlantic and after 9/11 he put in hundreds of £millions of his own money to save the Company that was 2 days away from collapse.
We'll just have to see if/what he does now personally.
Branson had deep pockets twice in the past to save the airline which he has always called ''his baby''

It was the CEO of the Virgin Group that owns 51% of VS and the VS MD that has approached HM Govt. not actually SRB currently.

We (The aviation world) has never seen such unprecedented times - I can see the World and all the economies having to press the reset button on all business, debt is wiped off, State aid is given (which has been done so far to initial responses in the UK) and then we all start again.

So he is non resident and not a British tax payer, but wants the British tax payer to help his 'baby'.

As a non-public company, and therefore its demise won't impact pension funds etc. I'm not expecting the UK govt to assist. Trump might through a bail out of Delta....

Branson might be have a few problem coming his way, as his cruise line has also been dry docked due corona. Interesting to see what kind of cash burn rate a brand new cruise line could sustain along with the airline. Probably 2 of the hardest hit sectors.

Govt bailout ??? yes or no
Looks like Virgin have a lot of opposition to receiving any assistance. Willie Walsh has stated he is against it , Labour shadow transport secretary stated in HofC that Branson should spend his own cash ans Joe public is against a company owned 49% by Delta and 51% owned by a multi billionaire receiving any tax payers money.
After 9/11 approx 180 f/o's were cast adrift and 80 Captains offered those f/o positions or unpaid leave etc. They retired the classic 747 back then and grounded the A340's.
Looks like this downturn could be longer lasting and more damaging.
Govt didnt assist before ,cant see them doing so this time either and Boris wont want to be seen doing so by Tax payers.
Get ready for redundancies.
Which fleet will they ground this time ?

Agreed plus Delta bailing out.

Does this mean that any company with a billionaire owning just a part of it should be excluded from receiving any government help??

Who is the biggest shareholder of British Airways/(IAG)? Hmmm, Qatar Airways owns 21% doesn’t it?

Who is the largest shareholder of EasyJet? Hmm Stelios Haji-loannou with 34%

Who is the largest shareholder of the TUI group Alexey Mordashov with 25%

Words are cheap, well his are, in our local charity bookshop.

None of them should get anything more than loans. Maybe low interest loans, but that's it. If they fail, someone else will buy the assets and continue flying. The planes, pilots and cabin crew won't disappear.

This is not like the banking crisis. Pulling the plug on airlines won't destroy the entire economy (if it isn't already destroyed by the virus).

Perhaps, any state aid should be in return for a stake in these companies. (As with the £460 billion bailout for the Banks in 2008).

People are forgetting that the Airlines are owned primarily by investment funds, using our money from Pensions. People demanding that all the troubled Airlines be allowed to fail are impacting their own pension funds. Although -30% down, they will rebound in time, if you let the airlines fail, then all investment returns are lost. Everyone loses....Investors, Pension Fund Holder, Employees, Suppliers, Suppliers Employees.....and so on. I doubt those calling for the axe to fall would not be so gung-ho if it were there jobs at risk.

It’s a very tricky decision for somebody to take. I hate to think how much money a grounded airline like Virgin/BA consumes every day. I don’t think it’s feasible for the U.K. tax payer to bail out VS/BA/U2 etc as the numbers are too big. Additionally all are really multinational airlines.

You can make that argument for any major listed company. If nothing was allowed to fail then the Government would run out of money pretty soon. If Virgin goes out of business then when the upturn arrives some other airline will fill that void - just as they did when Lakers went bust or Dan-air.

I’m surprised at the intimate knowledge some have of how much ready cash SRB has in his wallet. Perhaps he, like many of us, has taken a hefty hit from the collapse of the stock market. His appeal could be likened to vegemite, hate it/like it.
The thought of VS going to the wall will be music to BA’s ears and a nightmare for British travellers having no British competitor for long haul.

British government can only financially support with the aid of investors. Basic economics.

Cannot think the music BA is hearing is anything other than a slow waltz. They are more interested in their future never mind a demise of VS.

All airlines face a very difficult time as our population is facing this virus.

Follow the NZ government lead, loan with interest to Air NZ, various tranches available and mechanisms in place to ensure the money is repaid and if not then it is convertible into equity ie: Government increases existing stake. Also dividend payments are prohibited until debt is repaid.

Don't be surprised if you never see that ship sail - in Virgin colours at least... :E it's sale value of around $850m must be quite appealing right now to RB, although the problem will be finding someone to buy it.

If the current mess of a customer service experience they have created from the current situation is anything to go by, they won't be around for a great deal longer

You know when you read a lot of these posts it’s almost as if you want people to lose their jobs. Shame on all of you.