Why are people unable to distinguish between Virgin Atlantic, a UK based company that pays £350m in tax and employs 9000 staff, and Richard Branson, the man who set up the business.

Virgin (not Richard!) are asking for loans due to having had to ground almost

#virginatlantic

.. the entire fleet whilst still having to pay tens of millions of pounds a month in aircraft leasing costs. Richard Branson has put in $250m, and will likely put in more. People are so quick to be outraged, but let me remind you of a few things..

1. Virgin Atlantic have made flying better for everyone. Challenging the status quo, showing everyone what good customer service looks like and forcing other airlines to keep up. Not to mention cheaper fares, because of fair competition (which already lacks in the UK).

2. VA are a leader in sustainability. Yes it’s an airline, which is a polluting industry, but they’ve been a leader in development of sustainable aircraft fuels, and reducing single use plastic. Other airlines are now following their lead.

3. Virgin are 10 times smaller than BA. They’ve always been the underdog, and despite misconceptions do not make millions of pounds in profit. They invest more than most in customer service, design and innovation - even despite their relative size

4. There’s 9000 people’s livelihoods at stake (including mine), not to mention the jobs at business that are intrinsically linked to serving the airline. We all deserve a fair chance at overcoming this crisis. Can we all please be a bit kinder to each other, and...

5. Fact check those daily mail headlines. Sensationalised articles are whipping people up into a needless frenzy. Most of what you’re reading is wildly exaggerated or twisted.
That includes the reports on ‘suing’ the NHS https://virgincare.co.uk/blog/why-its-wrong-to-say-we-sued-the-nhs-because-we-lost-a-contract-in-surrey/

6. Virgin aren’t out to steal all your taxpayers ££ (they’re asking for loans remember). Just like many of us who are taking mortgage holidays loans to get through this, Virgin need a bit of support too. Remember we’re talking about people’s jobs, not lining Richard’s back pocket

Ps. If you are feeling kind please retweet the first tweet in this thread. Want to provide some balance to the negativity this evening and remind people to think of the bigger picture.