British long-haul airline

Virgin Atlantic pilot recruitment

VS / VIR

Long-haul airline founded by Richard Branson in 1984, a long-standing challenger on transatlantic routes from London, with a fleet made up exclusively of wide-body and medium-capacity aircraft.

Virgin Atlantic fleet, hub and head office

1984

Founded

Head office

Crawley, United Kingdom

Main hub

London Heathrow (main), Manchester (secondary)

Fleet (aircraft types operated)

Airbus A330-900, A350-1000; Boeing 787-9

Pilot recruitment at Virgin Atlantic

Mainly recruits pilots already qualified and experienced on wide-bodies (A350, 787, A330neo). A more limited ab initio cadet programme than at British Airways or Lufthansa; long-haul profiles above all.

Recruitment information is given as a guide only (public sources, subject to change over time): always check the current conditions on the airline's careers site.

History of Virgin Atlantic

Founded in 1984 by Richard Branson as a challenger to British Airways on the North Atlantic, Virgin Atlantic belongs to the Virgin group. Delta Air Lines holds a 49% minority stake in it; Air France-KLM, Delta and Virgin Atlantic jointly operate a joint venture on the North Atlantic.

Pay and conditions, as pilots report them

Figures reported by pilots, not confirmed by the airline, each one dated (last update: May 2026). For information only.

Captain: about £206,400 a year in year 1 and up to about £239,900 in year 14, basic salary and flying pay included, before tax (November 2025).
First officer: about £101,700 a year in year 1, up to about £145,500 in year 14 as senior first officer (SFO), before tax (November 2025); second officer: about £89,100 to £90,700 (July 2025).
Tax-free downroute allowances (HMRC rates) based on time away from base: from about $30 a day in Africa to $160 in the United States (November 2025).
Pension: up to 15% from the company and 6% from the pilot (November 2025).
Rosters: at least 10 days off a month, 14 on average; 750-hour, booster and commuter contracts. According to pilots, some agreed protections were not yet in place (September 2024).
Leave: 35 days to start with, plus 1 day for each year completed, up to 5 more (July 2025).
Staff travel, among the best in the industry according to pilots: 7 free standby tickets a year (taxes paid), unlimited discounted Virgin tickets, tickets for family and friends, discounts with Delta, KLM and Air France; discounts in IHG and Accor hotels (November 2025).
Active hiring on Airbus and Boeing, driven by new routes (Seoul, Riyadh) and ten A330neos delivered from 2026, mostly on Airbus. No direct entry captains: command through internal upgrade, in about 6 years. Outlook described as positive (May 2026).
First officer profile: UK CAA ATPL unfrozen at joining, UK class 1 medical, a valid type rating on a fleet type, ICAO level 6 English (November 2025).

Reports published on pilotjobsnetwork.com

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Preparing for psychometric tests before a selection

Some pilot selections include psychometric tests. ForAllPilots does not say whether Virgin Atlantic uses them, or which ones: none of the series below is presented as Virgin Atlantic's.

To practise anyway, the site offers several series of exercises, included with the ATPL subscription. They are practice exercises, not official tests: ForAllPilots is not affiliated with any airline or any test publisher, and the exact rules or scoring may differ.

Blog guides to practise with

Prepare your theory: BIA, PPL and ATPL questions

Whether you are aiming for Virgin Atlantic or another airline, the ForAllPilots revision bank covers the BIA, the PPL and the ATPL.

Start revising

By licence:BIA question bank (FR)PPL question bank (FR)ATPL question bank (FR)

Other airlines

ForAllPilots is an independent site: it is not affiliated with Virgin Atlantic or any other airline, and publishes no job offers. To apply, go through the airline's careers site.