Virgin Atlantic returns to profit on cost cuts LONDON, May 5 (Reuters) ? Virgin Atlantic Airways said on Monday a tight rein on costs had helped it swing into profit in the last financial year, but cautioned it was difficult to predict how it would fare this year. The airline, led by flamboyant retail and travel mogul Richard Branson, said it expected to have made a pre-tax profit of 10 million pounds ($16 million) during the year to end-April 2003 compared with a 92 million-pound loss a year earlier. Virgin's turnaround comes at a time when the airline sector ? reeling from a demand slump since the hijacked plane attacks in the U.S. in September 2001 ? struggled with high oil prices, the war in Iraq and the spread of the deadly SARS virus in Asia. "In the current climate it's very difficult to predict what the next 12 months will bring, but we're hopeful that we will remain in profit," Branson said in a statement, adding that Virgin would continue to keep a firm grip over costs. Virgin said the challenging conditions engulfing the airline industry had hit last year's revenues, which fell to around 1.4 billion pounds from 1.5 billion a year earlier. But passenger numbers were unchanged at around four million people. The airline, 51% owned by Branson's Virgin group and the rest by Singapore Airlines, said it was continuing to invest in new planes, with three Airbus 340-600 and a Boeing 747-400 aircraft expected to join its 26-strong fleet this year. It added that it remained on track for the delivery of the Airbus 380 in the summer of 2006. Concorde envy Branson, who has expressed interest in taking over the fleet of Concordes which rival British Airways plans to retire later this year, said it was his "strong personal ambition" to keep the supersonic jetliners flying in Virgin's colours. "I have written to both British Airways and the British government asking to get a better understanding of the aircraft and its operations," he said. British Airways and Air France are retiring their fleet of the needle-nosed, 100-seater Concorde planes after 27 years of service because of rising maintenance costs and waning demand for tickets. British Airways has rejected Virgin's offer to buy its Concorde fleet, saying it would prefer to done the planes to museums. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.cso.gov.tt TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************