Virgin Atlantic delays public offering to 2022

LONDON - Virgin Atlantic delays IPO from Q4 2021 to early 2022 according to insiders - the airline hopes to take momentum of the reopening of the US market into the offering, "Reuters" reports. Virgin Atlantic experienced a strong surge in bookings after the US announced plans to relax travel restrictions by November.

Virgin Atlantic will delay its IPO to Q1 2022 to focus on restoring capacity on its UK - US network, insiders told "Reuters". The airline recently reported a 600 percent surge in bookings after the Biden Administration unvealed plans to ease Covid-19 travel restrictions and allow Europeans back in.

Virgin Atlantic is co-owned by billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group, that holds a 51 percent interest, and Delta Air Lines with a 49 percent stake.

A 1.5 billion pound rescue package helped Virgin Atlantic navigate the Covid-19 storm in 2020. The airline posted a 659 million pound loss that year.