The company will begin offering commercial spaceflights next year, with an eventual goal of multiple flights per day around the world.



n Sunday, Virgin Galactic hit a crucial milestone on its road to make commercial space tourism a reality starting in 2022: sending a fully crewed ship to space that included founder and billionaire Richard Branson. But Branson won’t be leading the charge, as he plans to step back and focus on his charitable foundations. That leaves Michael Colglazier as the “steely-eyed missile man” in charge of the company’s mission.



As CEO of the space tourism company, it’s Colglazier’s job to get ready for paying customers, with shareholders looking over his shoulder to make sure he does. (Not to mention the over 600 people who’ve already bought spaceflight tickets &#8211; some of whom have been holding them for over a decade). His goal is to get the company to the point where it starts opening its doors to taking customers to space starting next year.



Despite the pressure, the former president and managing director of Disney Parks, who took the reins of the space tourism company in July of last year, is upbeat and chipper at the end of this long day that saw the company’s founder get to the stars. Sitting down in New Mexico’s spaceport, which was built by the state for the purpose of facilitating space tourist flights the way airports facilitate airlines, he emphasizes that what Virgin Galatic needs to deliver is more than just a spaceflight, amazing as the singular event is.&nbsp;



“Our product, what we give you is a lifelong memory,” Colglazier says. “And so our focus is on the experience so that your emotions are so powerful that the memory is impressed upon you in a way you talk about it your whole life.”



To that end, he explains Virgin Galactic’s ultimate aim is to have spaceports located all over the world, not just New Mexico, which can offer more than just a place to hitch a ride to space, but a place that can “inspire” people to want to make their own journey. “We’ll be collaborating with New Mexico to figure out how to build a broader experience around the spaceport,” he says. “And that’s the product we’ll take to other locales.”&nbsp;



Doing that, he says, means operating at a near-daily cadence of spaceflights from every location it operates from, which will require a massive increase in the company’s manufacturing capacity. He estimates that each spaceport his company operates in will need “high single digit to low double digit” numbers of spaceships, along with multiple motherships needed to carry the spacecraft to altitude.



“We’re talking 400 flights a year for every spaceport we operate,” he says. “So we have to build a fleet. How many ships we need is going to depend on how quickly we can turn them around” for future spaceflights, he says. Something the company won’t be sure about until it’s done more tests with its next generation of spacecraft, the first of which has been built and is undergoing testing now.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“You saw the elegance of it, you saw how gracefully it goes,” says Colgrzier of the Unity launch. “It&#8217;s a ballet and it acrobatically moves to purposely give you this amazing view of the planet.”</blockquote>



It’s also something that will happen with some competition. In just a few days, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin is sending its founder to space on a test flight, and that company also plans on offering rides to customers. Colglazier says the market right now is way too big to worry about competition. However, he does then point out that Virgin’s experience is quite different from Blue Origin’s, starting with the fact that Virgin’s spacecraft are carried by plane while its competitor will lift customers up on a traditional rocket.&nbsp;



“We take off horizontally, and we believe there&#8217;s great value to that,” he says, describing how Virgin’s carrier planes take its spacecraft to around 45-50,000 feet before releasing them to rocket the rest of the way to space. “And you saw the elegance of it, you saw how gracefully it goes. It&#8217;s a ballet and it acrobatically moves to purposely give you this amazing view of the planet. ”



Getting to the point where the company can offer its “elegant” experience will likely be quite capital intensive. The company announced this morning that it’s selling an additional $500 million in shares. In a report published earlier this year, Morgan Stanley estimated the company likely won’t see positive free cash flow until 2028, though Colglazier dismisses that by saying “there are many financial models out there, and they range a lot because people are missing the data. Today will be a nice proof point of that.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fspecials-images.forbesimg.com%2Fimageserve%2F60ec998b6830238503a22689%2F1960x0.jpg%3Ffit%3Dscale" alt="Sirisha Bandla looks out the window at Earth while in zero-g."/><figcaption>While on the Unity 22 flight, Virgin Galactic VP Sirisha Bandla also conducted a scientific experiment.&nbsp;VIRGIN GALACTIC</figcaption></figure>



Virgin’s got other ways of bringing money in to build out its vision, too. Colglazier says the company intends to open up more spaceflight ticket sales in the summer or fall (it previously stopped offering tickets in 2013). It will also be using its suborbital spaceflights as a platform for scientific research. On Sunday’s flight with Richard Branson, company VP Sirisha Bandla was busy conducting a research experiment for Virgin customer the University of Florida. Research experiments, he says, can bring in around $600,000 per flight.&nbsp;



Ultimately, Colglazier says, his company will spend the next few years focused on building up and scaling out both its customer experiences and its research business, and then tackle other opportunities as they come. “We now have a really interesting organization and company that you would imagine could do other things,” he says. “But we want to make sure we get the economic engine moving first.” 



By Alex Knapp, Forbes Staff

Sir Richard Branson Rings Opening Bell As Virgin Galactic Holdings Joins NYSE

Virgin Galactic CEO Explains What’s Next After Billionaire Richard Branson’s Successful Spaceflight

Billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/#d85d1306ff53">Sir Richard Branson</a>&nbsp;has responded to criticism over Virgin’s handling of the coronavirus crisis. In an open letter to “the Virgin family” Branson thanks his 70,000 staff and addresses “comments” on his “net worth” and the need for government money to support the businesses they work for.



Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic Branson has faced scrutiny after an early decision to ask Virgin airline staff to take eight weeks’ unpaid leave.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The move was met with a barrage of criticism, Richard Fuller the Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire since 2019 slammed Branson in Parliament, claiming that Branson should use his net worth to pay the unpaid leave and that it could be covered by the “interest on your wealth” claimed by Fuller at the time to be $3.8 billion, “for eight weeks.”



As Forbes pointed out at the time, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/2020/03/19/virgin-billionaire-branson-attacked-in-parliament-over-staff-pay-during-coronavirus-crisisbut-employees-remain-supportive/#6751ea833b8f">Mr Fuller’s estimation of Branson’s net worth assumes the £3.8 billion is a cash asset</a> that can gain interest sitting in a bank account. Branson’s net worth is compiled from a network of public and private investments. His current cash pile sits at £520 million ($600 million).



Branson responded to this in his letter: “I’ve seen lots of comments about my net worth–but that is calculated on the value of Virgin businesses around the world before this crisis, not sitting as cash in a bank account ready to withdraw. Over the years significant profits have never been taken out of the Virgin Group, instead they have been reinvested in building businesses that create value and opportunities. The challenge right now is that there is no money coming in and lots going out.”



Last month, Branson moved to protect the futures of his 70,000 employees announcing a $250 million rescue package. A spokesperson for Branson confirmed that the $250 million would come from “Richard and Virgin group” and would not be paid by Virgin Atlantic.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tax Trouble</h2>



On claims that Branson does not pay U.K. income and capital gains tax on his investment success, Branson uses the letter to address, “comments about my home.” Adding, “Joan and I did not leave Britain for tax reasons but for our love of the beautiful British Virgin Islands and in particular Necker Island, which I bought when I was 29 years old, as an uninhabited island on the edges of the BVI. Over time, we built our family home here. The rest of the island is run as a business, which employs 175 people. As with other Virgin assets, our team will raise as much money against the island as possible to save as many jobs as possible around the Group.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Government Money</h2>



Branson also gives the clearest indication yet that Virgin Atlantic desperately needs government money to survive this pandemic warning that “hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost” across the sector.



He adds, “we will do everything we can to keep the airline going–but we will need government support to achieve that in the face of the severe uncertainty surrounding travel today and not knowing how long the planes will be grounded for.



“This would be in the form of a commercial loan–it wouldn’t be free money and the airline would pay it back.



“The reality of this unprecedented crisis is that many airlines around the world need government support and many have already received it. Without it there won’t be any competition left and hundreds of thousands more jobs will be lost, along with critical connectivity and huge economic value. Virgin Atlantic started with one plane 36 years ago. Over those years it has created real competition for British Airways, which must remain fierce for the benefit of our wonderful customers and the public at large.”



Last week Virgin Atlantic was told by the U.K. government to resubmit its proposal for a £500m coronavirus bailout package.



The Financial Times&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/e2636703-acec-49ad-97b8-b944e032db1f" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported that the UK government was left unimpressed with its initial bid</a>&nbsp;which included a $622 million (£500m) package of commercial loans and guarantees.



A government official told the FT that the Treasury was “unimpressed by the initial bid.”



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/">David Dawkins</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

gettyimages-1178649352-594×594

Billionaire Branson Asks For Government Money To Save Virgin Atlantic, Claims He ‘Did Not Leave Britain For Tax Reasons’

Billionaire entrepreneur&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/#72d1a7ea6ff5">Sir Richard Branson</a>&nbsp;has been criticized by a U.K. politician for airline Virgin Atlantic’s request on Monday for staff to take eight weeks unpaid leave during the coronavirus pandemic.



Labour MP Kate Osborne, the second U.K. politician to be diagnosed with coronavirus, described Virgin Atlantic’s decision as “an absolute disgrace” on Twitter.



Author Liam Young tweeted, “Virgin Atlantic have 8,500 employees and Branson has asked them to take 8 weeks unpaid leave. It would cost £4.2 million to pay all of these employees £500 a week to cover this leave. In total that’s a cost of £34 million for 8 weeks.”



The implication appears to be that billionaire Richard Branson, whose net worth Forbes estimates $3.8 billion, could afford to cover this cost.



Virgin Atlantic confirmed in a statement Monday that it plans to reduce its schedule and prioritize routes based on customer demand. The airline predicts an 80% reduction in flights per day, and adds, “As a direct consequence we will be parking approximately 75% of our fleet by 26 March and at points in April will go up to 85%.” 



Virgin Atlantic describes the changes as “drastic measures” put in place to “ensure cash is preserved, costs are controlled, and the future of the airline is safeguarded.”



Adding, “Staff will be asked to take eight weeks unpaid leave over the next three months, with the cost spread over six months&#8217; salary, to drastically reduce costs without job losses.” The airline confirms its decision has received the support of unions BALPA and UNITE in agreeing to the unpaid leave.



 A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “The aviation industry is facing unprecedented pressure. We are appealing to the [U.K] government for clear, decisive and unwavering support. Our industry needs emergency credit facilities to a value of £5-7.5 billion, to bolster confidence and to prevent credit card processors from withholding customer payments.” 



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Bad Times For Branson</h3>



Branson’s business empire has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic.



On March 14 the Virgin Voyages cruise ship operation decided to postpone the launch of its new Scarlet Lady cruise line. “The current global health crisis is understandably making many people rethink upcoming travel plans,” Virgin Voyages confirmed in a statement.



On March 5, British airline Flybe — which is part owned by Virgin Atlantic— collapsed after it succumbed to its financial woes and weakened demand because of the Covid-19 outbreak.



Following the announcement of Flybe’s collapse, Virgin Atlantic said: “Sadly, despite the efforts of all involved to turn the airline around, not least the people of Flybe, the impact of Covid-19 on Flybe’s trading means that the consortium can no longer commit to continued financial support.”



Flybe, which once was Europe’s largest independent regional carrier, narrowly escaped collapse in January, after being bought by Cyrus Capital, Virgin Atlantic and Stobart last year.



Virgin Galactic, Branson’s publicly traded space tourism arm, has seen its shares slump since its mid February high of $37.26 on the NYSE. Having lost another 10% of value as of 4:30 pm U.K. time on Monday, Virgin Galactic is priced at $13.30 and falling. Branson’s Virgin Investment Limited owns 47% of Virgin Galactic through an investment entity, Vieco. 



&#8211;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddawkins/">David Dawkins</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/worlds-billionaires">Billionaires</a>

Tag: Virgin Atlantic

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

Virgin Galactic CEO Explains What’s Next After Billionaire Richard Branson’s Successful Spaceflight

Billionaire Branson Asks For Government Money To Save Virgin Atlantic, Claims He ‘Did Not Leave Britain For Tax Reasons’

Bad Times For Billionaire Branson–Staff At Virgin Atlantic Asked To Take Unpaid Leave As Coronavirus Cripples Air Travel