Virgin Atlantic is changing captains at the top deck. After six years in command, Shai Weiss will hand over the controls to Corneel Koster on 1 January 2026. It’s not a shock announcement; Koster’s been sitting in the jump seat for a while, but it does mark the end of one of Virgin’s most transformative eras.
Weiss’s tenure has been nothing short of a white-knuckle ride: grounded fleets, border bans, staff layoffs, a £1.2 billion rescue plan and somehow, a return to profit for the first time since 2016.
Now, the man who’s been quietly keeping the cabin calm and the engines humming, Koster, will take the lead.
In This Post
Shai Weiss: The Survivalist Who Turned It Around
When Weiss took over in 2019, Virgin Atlantic was already feeling the squeeze between British Airways’ dominance and the low-cost invasion. Then came the pandemic.
For three months, Virgin didn’t operate a single commercial flight. Lesser airlines folded. Weiss didn’t.
He rebuilt the airline from the ground up, literally. A radical restructuring plan kept Virgin afloat without bankruptcy, earning quiet respect in an industry known for brutal collapses. He also cut costs, simplified the fleet, and repositioned the airline for sustainable growth.
But Weiss wasn’t just a crisis firefighter. He left his mark in three big ways:
1. Tech Meets Touch
He pushed the airline into the digital fast lane, predictive pricing, AI-driven personalisation, and slicker customer tools. Virgin became less “retro glamour” and more data-driven efficiency.
2. Green Miles Ahead
Weiss was obsessed with decarbonisation. He backed the world’s first 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) flight from London to New York and made Virgin one of the loudest UK voices for sustainability in commercial aviation.
3. Premium Push
He doubled down on Virgin’s sweet spot, travellers who want flair without formality. Lounge makeovers, new A330neos with fresh cabins, Starlink Wi-Fi, and refined service design are all aimed at making Virgin the boutique alternative to the Goliaths.
Weiss walks away with an airline that’s leaner, greener, and profitable again, no small feat for a carrier that once looked destined for the scrapheap.
Meet Corneel Koster: The Operator with Altitude
If Weiss was the strategist, Corneel Koster is the tactician.
Currently Virgin’s Chief Customer and Operating Officer, he’s the guy who’s been juggling flight ops, maintenance, airports, crew, lounges, safety and service. In short, everything you’d yell about on Twitter if it went wrong.
Before Virgin, Koster clocked time at Delta Air Lines (overseeing Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India) and Grupo Aeromexico, where he was COO. He’s also held senior roles at Air France-KLM, giving him the holy trinity of Virgin’s joint-venture partners on his CV.
That’s not just impressive trivia, it’s strategically priceless.
Koster understands how those transatlantic relationships actually function behind the curtain, and how to make them work harder for Virgin’s bottom line.
Under his watch, Virgin became the only UK airline to bag APEX’s 2026 Five-Star Global Airline award, a sign that his customer-operations double act isn’t just a title, it delivers.
What’s on Koster’s Flight Plan?
1. Precision Over Promises
Koster is an ops guy. Expect tighter schedules, fewer cancellations, and smoother turnarounds. He’s likely to double down on reliability and operational consistency, things passengers don’t tweet about when they work perfectly.
2. Customer Experience 2.0
With both the customer and engineering teams reporting to him, Koster’s focus will be on connecting the dots between cabin and control room.
Think smarter disruption management, data-led service recovery, and fewer “we’re sorry for the inconvenience” emails.
3. Partnership Leverage
Having served at Delta and KLM, he’s uniquely placed to squeeze more juice out of Virgin’s transatlantic joint venture. Expect deeper integration across loyalty, pricing, and scheduling, all without losing that Virgin flair.
4. Green Sky Thinking
Weiss may have set the sustainability bar high, but Koster will bring an operational lens, turning big pledges into measurable progress. Expect more fuel-efficient scheduling, SAF investment, and behind-the-scenes tweaks to cut emissions.
5. Quiet Confidence, Loud Delivery
Insiders describe him as calm, pragmatic, and quietly ambitious. Don’t expect flashy press quotes; expect punctual flights, happier crews, and smoother ops.
The Bigger Picture
Virgin Atlantic’s next phase isn’t about reinvention; it’s about refinement.
Weiss dragged the airline through a crisis and back to stability. Koster’s job is to prove that stability can scale without losing the magic that makes Virgin, well, Virgin.
The real challenge? Keeping that boutique DNA alive while competing with global giants. If anyone can strike that balance between passion and precision, it’s the guy who’s been running the show from row zero.
The Bottom Line
As Shai Weiss prepares to disembark, he leaves behind an airline leaner, sharper, and back in profit.
Corneel Koster, the man who’s been quietly making it all work, now gets to fly the plane and set the course for what Virgin Atlantic 2.0 will look like.
The baton’s passed. The engines are warm. Now it’s Koster’s turn to climb.
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