Flight price rises due to ‘foolish leaders’ starting wars, Virgin’s Branson says

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, has accused flight price increases on "foolish leaders" initiating wars, specifically pointing to the US-Israel conflict with Iran. The Middle East tensions have disrupted oil production and transportation, leading to a surge in car and jet fuel prices, which are derived from oil.

Virgin Atlantic implemented a fuel surcharge on ticket prices in May due to this surge. US President Donald Trump has defended the conflict as beneficial for long-term peace and security, but Branson disagreed, stating that the Iran conflict was "completely unnecessary." He added, "There was a nuclear agreement between Iran and the rest of the world that had been negotiated by President Obama and a lot of European people.

It was working, so there was no need to rip it up." The European benchmark jet fuel price rose to over $1,800 per tonne in April, before dropping to around $1,450. Virgin Atlantic's CEO, Corneel Koster, said that due to the high fuel prices, fuel surcharges were "absolutely required." The surcharge added £50 for economy class, £180 for premium, and £360 for business class fares.

In April, Teneo consultancy found that the Iran war had resulted in a 25% increase in air fares. Ryanair announced it would reduce its winter schedule due to higher fuel prices and expect European short-haul fares to increase if jet fuel prices continue to rise. Despite the higher costs, Koster said Virgin did not plan to make any significant changes to its winter schedule, only reducing capacity slightly if demand is low.

Virgin Atlantic secured a contract with Team GB and ParalympicsGB to fly them to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, taking over from British Airways.