The collapse in the value of sterling will allow US visitors to “see the King for half-price”, an airline boss joked on Tuesday.
Shai Weiss, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, said the Government should be “humble enough” to recognise the policies in Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last Friday were a mistake and look to quickly change course.
Sterling plunged to US$1.03 on Monday morning, causing a crisis in the financial markets that the Bank of England tried to steady in the afternoon with an announcement that it would hike interest rates if necessary.
Mr Weiss told a briefing that that the airline had begun preparing several months ago for the pound to reach parity with the dollar.
He said the exchange rate would cut the price of foreign travel to the UK, implying this would benefit US travellers keen to witness the start of the reign of Charles III.
He said: “The weakness of the pound is hurting not Virgin Atlantic. It’s hurting the economy and it’s hurting consumers, because we are fuelling the inflation vicious cycle.
“We buy planes and fuel in dollars. Thankfully we took some very smart financial positions that will ease the burden of the decline in the pound over the next 12 months.
“The message to Government is pretty clear. Our prime minister, Liz Truss, said she would take difficult decisions upon entering to the role.
“Maybe they need to take more difficult decisions to reverse the decline in the pound and ensure that this country is not left with unsustainable perceived weaknesses in international markets, which of course then impacts interest rates, impacts consumers and impacts mortgage rates and impacts the entire economy.
“Yes, we are concerned, but the fundamentals of Virgin Atlantic are strong.”
Mr Weiss added: “ “On the flip-side of that, this country is on sale. If you want to come and see the King for half-price, please fly Virgin Atlantic.
“My job is not to be the chancellor. What I meant is that sometimes you have to be humble enough to say that, if I said something or wanted to do something that is not working, maybe I should reverse course. That is not a bad thing to do.”
Virgin Atlantic announced on Tuesday that it would join the SkyTeam alliance of global airlines from next January, the first UK carrier to do so.
This will provide benefits for frequent travellers, including access to airport lounges for premium ticket holders and easier booking on multi-leg trips involving different member airlines.
Mr Weiss said airlines across the globe had seen a “very strong summer” but were “still catching up from two years of non-travel”. Virgin Atlantic passenger numbers had been “15 to 20 per cent” below pre-pandemic capacity, he said.
Problems at airports forced it to cancel 180 flights, inconveniencing 38,000 passengers. It has hubs at Heathrow and Manchester.
He said Heathrow must be prepared for next summer, having been unable to cope at times with demand this summer.
He said: “For next year, let’s not make the same mistake.”
More routes are planned, starting with Tampa in November, but a return to short-haul flights has been “delayed indefinitely”, while there are no plans to return to Gatwick next year.
He said the pandemic had taught the airline the “profound” importance of partnerships. “For our customers, it simply is the right thing,” he said.
