Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic has posted an increase in pre-tax profits of £34 million amid a backdrop of the economic crisis.

Virgin Atlantic has surprised the airline industry by announcing strong profits for the trading year to February 2009.

Virgin, one of the world’s leading long-haul airlines, announced that pre-tax profits had nearly doubled to £68.4 million compared to the year before. The strong results are good news for staff, who will benefit from sharing 10% of the Group’s profits in the form of a bonus payout.

The airline has attributed the rise to an increase in the number of premium travellers who have chosen to fly with it, along with very positive Group sales, including an increase in sales from leading tour operator Virgin Holidays, which posted a rise of 8.4% to £2.579 billion.

Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic commented: “The last financial year has proven to be the most volatile yet in our 25-year history. To increase profits against a backdrop of such a severe recession is an excellent achievement by all our staff at Virgin Atlantic.”

The airline will celebrate its 25th anniversary on 22 June, and has been launching a series of flight offers for customers leading up to the celebrations.

Steve Ridgway, Chief Executive said: “With some of the lowest fares ever, consumers have never had it so good. Our load factors remain resilient as travellers take advantage of these bargain fares, proving the value of vigorous competition.”

The news comes in stark contrast to the annual results announced by British Airways (BA) last week (22 May). The airline announced its biggest lost since the company was privatised in 1987. The company reported a loss before tax of £401m, citing the weak pound and high fuel costs as the primary causes.