Absolutely Tim, but why is VA a worse risk than SqueezyJet in your view in the current climate? That’s what I’m struggling with.
SqueezyJet and CattleAir haven’t got the capacity to fill the long-haul gap to the States et al so in world terms, capacity of Dreamliner, B747s, and heavy Airbus’ saves fuel, emissions and so must be more efficient than the airframes used by the short haul industry or are you suggesting that these operators will lease off the VA fleet and to steal a march on VA?
I’m sure Michael O’Leary would jump at the chance - which is perhaps why he is so vociferous and against any deal for VA.
That’s how I see it anyway.
Still, there’s always ChinaAir/EVA Air but politically that might present a problem politically.
VA has more liabilities than assets which explains why no one will lend them any money.
Has it ever been so in that industry… They lease their flying stock and rely on income to service the loan. The flying stock is off balance sheet. If they don’t fly. they can’t service the loan.
Been there, done that with my Bank Manager over 20 years ago in the course of business. It’s how the industry operates. It’s all a numbers game and requires bankers with tight sphincters 
I’m not a top drawer accountant and I don’t have the numbers. But others will and their expertise will be crucial in arriving at a solution. My take is pure conjecture.
Does your granddaughter share your view of the airline industry? Even after qualifying the chances of her being able to use her qualification will be small as experienced pilots will be 2 a penny.
I like Sir B, based on what I have read. I do feel that the negative comments are aimed at the man rather than his Virgin Atlantic airline. In all probability its closure would not cause him much personal financial discomfort. He seems to be emotionally attached to it & shows care for the workforce. Unlike a lot of billionaires there does not seem to be much in the way of bitter ex employees out there with stories of being unfairly treated. Maybe I missed those.
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Obviously not. But it was a long held ambition and she worked very hard to qualify and I admire her determination. Quite a few dropped out and at the end she was the only girl left in her group.
But I am old and so it’s her future, not mine. The young must decide for themselves what kind of world they want to make.
My generation didn’t make such a good job of it.
As the article rightly says, “Virgin Atlantic is registered in the UK,” so is not a tax-haven firm.
The article quotes the letter "“some large corporations continue to avoid responsibility, making huge profits yet hiding their wealth in tax havens”. I think one of the points raised here is that Virgin Atlantic has not made a profit.
So it is a UK company not making huge profits.
The only link to Sir B was made by the the Times correspondent.
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Disgraceful. These people are traitors and at the very least they should be stripped of their titles. But then some of the UK’s top politicians are not exactly squeaky clean, so they are unlikely to want to put a stop to practices that may be useful to them one day.
But as I’ve already pointed out, Mark, it doesn’t really matter where subsidiaries are located - nor actually if they are not ‘profitable’, since profits are manipulated via intra-group charges - this is how most dishonest multinationals - ie. most multinationals! - minimise tax. What matters is that the holding company is in a tax haven.
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Surely the very name “multinational” implies that they have businesses in various countries? In which case which country has the right to claim the tax?
While Virgin & its tituler head is being vilified at the moment, no laws have been broken. There was no such outcry when RBS received a bailout (rather than a loan) a few years ago.
Also interesting that so many of these tax havens have UK links - At the top of the list was the British Virgin Islands, followed by Bermuda and the Cayman Islands – all British overseas territories. Let’s not forget Jersey!
This was an interesting article - https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/may/12/uk-companies-condemned-tax-havens
And who’d have thought it?
Absolutely - the whole tax haven thing is a racket, and the UK probably is the leading racketeer.
I note that France, though, is refusing aid to companies that use tax havens. I think this, and/or requiring the kind of fair tax pledge I linked earlier, is the way to go.
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Could it not lead to an increase in unemployment? This might not be the best time.
With all these multinational companies using tax havens do you not think that to single out Sir B on a personal level is a little selective?
As a businessman he seems to be more open & honest than most but has attracted a disproportionate amount of negative attention. Others are much worse but no individual is labelled.
Easyjet paid a £170 million dividend to shareholders after asking for (& getting) a government loan.
Shareholder & previous CEO Stelios has never been a UK tax payer as he has lived most of his adult life in the tax haven of Monaco.
No level playing field in this game.
This is what he thought of the loan -
Let’s not forget the link to Brexit.
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Interesting that Sir B is a staunch remainer.
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Interesting, Tim. This was not reported in the mainstream press.
…Just to cheer you up:
It is cyclic.
Hopefully in two years there’ll be a world shortage of aircrew, & she’ll be snapped up!
Still suspect positive discrimination will work in her favour too.
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I had hoped that. Until a couple of months ago there was a shortage of pilots. When things start moving again, I imagine a lot of the older guys will have reached retirement age and there won’t be many new trainees around.