Virgin Atlantic’s CEO Shai Weiss to step down on December 31

Virgin Atlantic has announced that its current chief executive, Shai Weiss, will step down from his role at the helm of the airline on December 31, 2025. Corneel Koster, who has worked at Virgin Atlantic for over nine years over two different stints, including C-level roles, will take over starting January 1, 2026.

In a statement on October 13, 2025, Virgin Atlantic said that Weiss, the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), will leave the company at the end of the year, with Koster, the airline’s current Chief Customer and Operating Officer, replacing Weiss on the first day of 2026.

Weiss, who began working at Virgin Atlantic in 2014, stepping into the role of CEO in 2019, said that Koster’s appointment was “well deserved,” nothing that the incoming chief executive “knows what it takes to drive Virgin Atlantic to the next level and he’ll continue to innovate for our people and our guests, making them smile every step of the way.”

“I leave Virgin Atlantic full of pride, knowing I have played a part in its bright red history. Together, we’ve transformed through the pandemic and emerged faster, better, and stronger than ever.”

In addition to his two stints at Virgin Atlantic, Koster also worked at Aeroméxico, Delta Air Lines, and KLM's subsidiaries.

Ed Bastian, the CEO of Delta Air Lines, which has a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic, said that Weiss has been a valued partner to the United States-based airline as the pair “worked side by side over the years to build the leading trans-Atlantic joint venture.”

“On behalf of the 100,000 Delta people worldwide, I want to thank him for his leadership, his friendship, and his commitment to our values of always putting people first.”

While Virgin Atlantic does not publish its quarterly financial results, being a private entity, the company does issue annual reports. Following six years of continuous losses between 2017 and 2023, the company, under Weiss’ stewardship, Virgin Atlantic finally posted a Profit Before Tax and Exceptional Items (PBTEI) of £20 million ($26.6 million).

Weiss also oversaw the further renewal of the airline’s fleet, as in addition to the Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft it had purchased prior to Weiss’ reign, the carrier ordered 14 A330-900s, plus six options, in 2019, with a further seven in July 2024, for the replacement of its A330-300s.

By 2028, Virgin Atlantic plans to fly 19 A330-900, 12 A350-1000, and 14 787-9 aircraft, which, yes, is a discrepancy between the number of aircraft it had ordered and plans to have by 2028. 

Airbus’ orders and deliveries filings showed that Virgin Atlantic has 13 aircraft of the type on order, while planespotters.net records indicated that seven out of eight of the airline’s A330-900s are on lease from Air Lease Corporation (ALC).

Meanwhile, its 2024 annual report read that, following the July 2024 order, Virgin Atlantic “has reviewed its long-term fleet plan and re-evaluated the likelihood of exercising extension options or early termination options present in its aircraft lease agreements.”