Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic has posted an annual pretax profit of £68 million and unveiled plans for new routes to Dubai and Jamaica in 2006.
Part of Branson's Virgin empire, which stretches from planes and trains to vodka and personal finance, said its pretax profit was for the year to February 28th and compared to £20.9 million in the 10 months to February 29th, 2004.
Turnover was £1.63 billion compared to £1.27 billion in the 10-month period, with passenger numbers up at 4.4 million from 3.4 million.
"In a challenging year when many leading players in the airline industry continued to struggle to survive, I am very pleased and proud that Virgin Atlantic has recorded healthy increases in both turnover and profit," Mr Branson said in a statement.
Airlines across the world are struggling with high fuel costs and overcapacity on routes over the North Atlantic. Mr Branson owns 51 per cent of Virgin Atlantic, with the remaining 49 per cent owned by Singapore Airlines Ltd.