Speaker 1: I'm joined by Shy Weiss. He is the CEO of
Speaker 1: Virgin Atlantic. Virgin Atlantic this year celebrating forty years in business.
Speaker 1: Shi go to see.
Speaker 2: Nice to be here.
Speaker 1: So forty year is what's next?
Speaker 2: Another forty years? First of all, so you know, it's
Speaker 2: delightful to celebrate our fortieth anniversary June twenty second, nineteen
Speaker 2: eighty four flight from Gatwick into Newark Airport. And you know,
Speaker 2: the thing that sets us apart has always been the
Speaker 2: red thread, our people, the magic that we make happen
Speaker 2: every single flight. Yeah, so we're delighted to be here.
Speaker 2: In the future, well, the future is bright. We have
Speaker 2: a very clear mission to be the most love travel
Speaker 2: company and become sustainably profitable and we are very much
Speaker 2: on course to achieving.
Speaker 1: Those Okay, we'll pick up on the profitability story. Interesting moments.
Speaker 1: So in terms of new roots, in terms of what
Speaker 1: you're doing with the airline this year, what are the plans.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so today we're announcing actually three new partnerships. We're
Speaker 2: announcing a co chair with elaal and two of our
Speaker 2: sky Team partners, Soudia and SAS. And we're also announcing
Speaker 2: that we're turning to Aviv on September the fifth, so,
Speaker 2: you know, increasing connectivity to our partners in sky Team
Speaker 2: and providing our customers were more choice and actually people
Speaker 2: coming into London and flying beyond.
Speaker 1: How easy was it to make the decision to return
Speaker 1: to Tel Aviv?
Speaker 2: You know, we we were the last carry to actually
Speaker 2: fly into Tel Aviv out of the UK, So the
Speaker 2: decision was made a few months ago. I think September
Speaker 2: is the right time to do it, and it's all
Speaker 2: about the first of all demand, but of course the
Speaker 2: feeling that our people should be comfortable flying there, because
Speaker 2: our people stay overnight in Tel Aviv and we want
Speaker 2: them to be comfortable doing their jobs, and I think
Speaker 2: September is the right time for that.
Speaker 1: This isn't based on progress of the peace deale. This
Speaker 1: is a price based on what is happening with the
Speaker 1: geopolitical story. It's just based on a demand story and
Speaker 1: the certainty that you have the your people will be
Speaker 1: saying yes.
Speaker 2: And of course the Delta is flying this week to
Speaker 2: Tel Aviv. I think United is coming after them, So
Speaker 2: I think there is a sense that you know, the
Speaker 2: carriers are seeing that things have stabilized, and of course
Speaker 2: with Biden's announced and hopefully the parties can find a
Speaker 2: way to accept his proposal and get much needed stability
Speaker 2: in peace for everyone in the Middle East.
Speaker 1: Interestingly that you've got almost on the same piece of
Speaker 1: paper a coach there with Sadia and a return to Israel. Yes.
Speaker 2: And the beautiful thing about it is we've added sas
Speaker 2: so kind of our Scandinavians in the Middle to show
Speaker 2: that Virgin Plant of course does business with everyone wherever
Speaker 2: there is demand, and it's our partners. We are happy
Speaker 2: to provide it. But it's a three way announcement today.
Speaker 2: We could have done it individually. But actually all this,
Speaker 2: all these conversations started a year ago here in AATA.
Speaker 2: It's nice to see progress a year on. This's talk
Speaker 2: about politics.
Speaker 1: British election coming out and it looks as if we're
Speaker 1: going to see a change in a change in government.
Speaker 1: What do you want to see from that next administration
Speaker 1: in ten Downing Streets. It looks like it's going to
Speaker 1: be the labor policy, That's what the polling is suggesting
Speaker 1: at the moment. What's the message, What does the aviation sector,
Speaker 1: what does Virgin Atlantic need to see from that next element?
Speaker 2: We've been very very clear, and it's really not about
Speaker 2: who wins the elections. It's about a new sense of
Speaker 2: pride in aviation in the United Kingdom. There's some amazing
Speaker 2: companies in the United Kingdom, but I think you know,
Speaker 2: the need to tax aviation companies with very thin margins,
Speaker 2: the fact that there is a lot of policies and sustainability,
Speaker 2: and the fact that we don't recognize that as an
Speaker 2: island nation, we really need a thriving aviation industry. So
Speaker 2: what I'm looking for from the government is leadership and
Speaker 2: understanding that aviation is the friend of the UK public
Speaker 2: and the friend of government. You know, we needed for trade,
Speaker 2: for of course, connecting families and loved ones, for tourism,
Speaker 2: and a strong aviation a strong virgin Atlantic can only
Speaker 2: be achieved if there is support for that from government.
Speaker 1: One of the key things that obviously you've been talking
Speaker 1: about a lots over the last few years has been
Speaker 1: what has been happening at Heathrow, British Head, which has
Speaker 1: been having the same conversation. There's a sense that maybe
Speaker 1: the customers, ie the airlines have not been getting a
Speaker 1: fair of the web in terms of the money that
Speaker 1: is having to be paid in order to make that
Speaker 1: make that that airport work. Now there's been some changes,
Speaker 1: do the changes go far enough? What do you want
Speaker 1: to would you like to see? Would you suggest the
Speaker 1: next government do we see changes that Heathrow?
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, it's very opportune time. We have
Speaker 2: a new leadership at Heathrow, we have potentially new government
Speaker 2: coming in and potentially new ownership of Heathrow, and there
Speaker 2: is no doubt in my mind that we need to
Speaker 2: see change in heath Throw. The service is simply not
Speaker 2: good enough for the most expensive airport in the world.
Speaker 2: It's the most busiest airport in Europe, it's the fourth
Speaker 2: busiest in the world. And when you're here in Dubai
Speaker 2: and Abu Dhabi and you can see what can be
Speaker 2: done with fantastic infrastructure, we need to see better on
Speaker 2: behalf of our customers.
Speaker 1: It looks like what does that actually what would you
Speaker 1: like to see the model being I'd like.
Speaker 2: To see a more efficient, a cleaner of course, but
Speaker 2: does the current so does the current ownership structure work?
Speaker 1: Would would there be a better model? It would work?
Speaker 2: I think if we have the opportunity to actually participate
Speaker 2: in and ownership and running of the terminal. We would
Speaker 2: be a fart. We would do a far better job.
Speaker 1: He throw up into separate terminal.
Speaker 2: That's one of the options are There are many options
Speaker 2: to consider, but first let's not forget he Throw is
Speaker 2: a regulated asset base, just like Thame's water. So there
Speaker 2: is a reason why they are regulated because you know,
Speaker 2: there is only one true hub in the United Kingdom.
Speaker 2: It happens to be Heathrow. When you tend to be
Speaker 2: a dominant player or a monopoly player, you tend to
Speaker 2: be complacent. And I would think that it was free
Speaker 2: competition at he Throw, or more sense of competition at Heathrow,
Speaker 2: the service that consumers would get would be far improved
Speaker 2: and airlines could do a better job.
Speaker 1: You don't think the Thames water example is that actually
Speaker 1: competition doesn't work.
Speaker 2: No, I think what I actually think is that just
Speaker 2: burdening stuff with that, not thinking about, not thinking about
Speaker 2: the consumers. That at the end of the of the game,
Speaker 2: that's where things start to fail. And I think there's
Speaker 2: different models. Of course water is not exactly airports, but
Speaker 2: the pillars are clear and the comment is fair.
Speaker 1: Talk about you talk about Heathrow. Gatwick used to be there.
Speaker 1: We used to be there, and I hear that you'd
Speaker 1: be welcome back.
Speaker 2: That's what I hear, and we always like to be
Speaker 2: welcome back. It's forty years for the first flight from
Speaker 2: from Gatwick and my answer is a very clear one.
Speaker 2: Never say never. You know, there is the historic home
Speaker 2: of Virgin Atlantic. There are constraints that Heathrow in terms
Speaker 2: of the ability to grow. Never say never to.
Speaker 1: Think a Trump presidency would make a transatlantic airlines life
Speaker 1: more difficult.
Speaker 2: The good news is I don't have to vote, and
Speaker 2: neither is anybody in the UK. But we do know that.
Speaker 2: Of course, there is a special relationship between the UK
Speaker 2: and the US, so whoever wins the elections, I'm sure
Speaker 2: will recognize the need to establish it.
Speaker 1: It feels like we're heading into a more fragmented world
Speaker 1: and the less fragmented world has suited big international airllies.
Speaker 1: A more fragmented, fragmented world, in theory, would be the
Speaker 1: exact opposite. Is that a fair conclusion.
Speaker 2: Well, you know, a unified I think in a global
Speaker 2: world is better for airlines, of course, because airlines are
Speaker 2: necessary in that type of an environment. There are more
Speaker 2: isolationist world is not where we play in it. There
Speaker 2: are one point four billion people voting this year. Of course,
Speaker 2: we're just about to finish the Indian elections, US, the
Speaker 2: UK and elsewhere. We're just see Mexico. So I would
Speaker 2: like to think that the people understand, the people who
Speaker 2: are voting understand that stability is good, that cooperation is good.
Speaker 2: It does feel a bit more fragmented, but you know,
Speaker 2: airlines don't run things for one year or two. That
Speaker 2: we run things into a very long future. Looking ahead,
Speaker 2: I'm pretty confident that the US will lead the way
Speaker 2: in creating an environment.
Speaker 1: That is inclusive. Congratulations on the forty yes credit see
Speaker 1: thank you, thanks so much. Still about to say