Virgin Galactic flights stay paused while ticket prices head for the Moon

Virgin Galactic has postponed its return to commercial spaceflight until February 2027, with plans to increase ticket prices later this year. The company disclosed its financial results, revealing a net loss of $56 million for the second quarter of 2026, a decrease from $67 million the previous year. Revenue for the quarter stood at $0.1 million, compared to $0.4 million in 2025.

CEO Michael Colglazier explained that demand exceeded the number of seats offered in the initial $750,000 batch, leading to a higher-price second batch. Colglazier stated, "Our first ship is now expected to enter commercial service in February 2027 rather than the fourth quarter of 2026," attributing the delay to the need for additional time to complete avionics and systems installations.

The integrated vehicle ground testing is slated to commence in late August, followed by flight testing in October. A second spaceship is expected to join the fleet in March 2027, and Virgin Galactic anticipates delivering positive quarterly cash flow within the same year. Ticket prices for suborbital flights were raised to $750,000 per seat, up from $600,000 in 2023, marking a significant increase from the $100,000 envisioned over two decades ago when the company was founded.

Virgin Galactic's last commercial flight occurred in 2024, after which operations were temporarily halted to concentrate on the development of its next-generation spacecraft. The company is not the only one pausing its space-tourism service; Blue Origin recently announced a two-year pause for its New Shepard flights while it works on its crewed lunar program.