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

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

CEO Michael Colglazier explained that demand outstripped the available seats in the initial $750,000 batch, leading to the preparation of another batch at a higher price. However, customers for these additional seats must wait until February 2027, a delay attributed to the additional time required for avionics and systems installations. Colglazier emphasized that no single issue is causing the schedule delay, but rather modest time extensions across hundreds of small yet crucial installation tasks.

During an earnings call, Colglazier elaborated on the issue, stating that the company's expectations were exceeded, leading to the accumulation of issues. Integrated vehicle ground testing is scheduled to commence later in August, followed by flight testing in October. A second spaceship is set to join the fleet in March 2027, and the company anticipates delivering positive cash flow by the end of 2027.

When Virgin Galactic re-opened suborbital ticket sales in April, it increased the price to $750,000 per seat, up from $600,000 in 2023. This significant jump marks a sharp contrast to the initial $100,000 price tag envisaged over two decades ago when Sir Richard Branson announced plans for a scaled-up version of Burt Rutan's SpaceShipOne.

At that time, the company had projected commercial flights would resume by the end of 2026. Since then, Virgin Galactic has paused operations to focus on its next-generation spacecraft. Notably, rival Blue Origin has also paused its New Shepard flights, a pause that could last up to two years, while it works on its crewed lunar program.