15th May 2003=20 Blue Continues To Soar Resiliance of Low Cost Model is Demonstrated in Challenging Times Australia's Low Fare Leader Posts $158 Million Pre-Tax Profit=20 Australia's low fare airline, Virgin Blue has flown in the face of the = global aviation trend by exceeding its targets and announcing a $158 = million dollar trading profit before tax for the year ended 31 March = 2003.=20 This represents a three-fold increase on the previous year's trading = profit before tax (2002 $47 million) and was achieved during a period in = which Virgin Blue developed a truly national network.=20 Brett Godfrey, Chief Executive of the airline said "Virgin Blue has = demonstrated the potential of our low fare model. It is the industry's = high-growth sector and it continues to deliver acceptable returns = despite challenging operating conditions. While our local competition is = Qantas, we benchmark ourselves globally against the leading low cost = carriers as they have demonstrated their growing dominance in the = short-haul aviation market."=20 "The travel industry faces a number of uncertainties like the war in = Iraq, Bali and SARS. The reality is however that our business has been = relatively well insulated from those challenges. Furthermore, the = situation overseas has encouraged many Australians to take their = holidays closer to home during the past year. As testament to this = statement, we continue to deliver on our April forecasts and are on = track to meet our profit expectations for the current quarter."=20 Still, we believe its critical to continue to build up our "war-chest" = for unforseen circumstances and therefore, all profits will be = reinvested in the airline to allow for future acquisitions or event = risk. There are no planned distributions to our shareholders at this = time.=20 In the past year we have continued to focus on opening new routes, = offering profitable discount pricing while maintaining our high service = standards and on-time performance record. While we do not face the = environment that exists in Europe, for example, with competition from = loss making state carriers, charter operators and over a dozen low fare = airlines, we are cognisant of the fact that if we lose sight of our low = cost focus we risk being surpassed by others in the future."=20 The airline continues to focus on growing its share of the lucrative = corporate travel market. "Our research shows that the business edge for = most people is friendly staff, high frequency, on-time performance and = fares that don't damage your bottom line. The corporate traveller is = abandoning box lunches and older aircraft, for an airline that has the = youngest fleet in the world and the best on-time performance in = Australia. Business travellers know that service is defined by how you = treat people, not how many amenities you can pile on. For this we thank = our 2400 staff who make the difference."