Virgin Galactic Lifts Ticket Price to $850,000 Amid Deepening Losses

Virgin Galactic will raise the price of a suborbital spaceflight to $850,000, executives said during a Thursday earnings call, as the company seeks new revenue to offset mounting losses. The move repositions the company's seats as an ultra-premium product while it works toward a return to commercial flights next year.

Two years have passed since the company launched a flight from Spaceport America in southern New Mexico, where it is an anchor tenant. In August, the company said its $750,000 ticket tranche sold out, prompting the latest price increase as it looks to generate more revenue while burning cash.

In its third-quarter earnings report, the company reported $427,000 in revenue and a net loss of $59 million. Executives said outstanding debt is below $100 million. The company announced a new $250 million at-the-market stock offering to help pay down some of its debt. Virgin Galactic shares, which trade under the ticker SPCE on the New York Stock Exchange, fell 7 percent on the day to $2.67.

CEO Michael Colglazier pointed to government contracts as another revenue opportunity. In October, the company announced a cooperative research and development agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory's Space Warfare Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base. "As many of you are aware, there is currently high demand for rocket systems within the government and defense sectors," Colglazier said. "We believe our expertise in rocket design and production can be adopted to support these needs, and we plan to expand our rocket production capabilities."

Colglazier said Virgin Galactic will increase its spaceflight capacity to 150 flights annually from two spaceships. The company expects commercial flights to begin in the second quarter of 2027, having pushed back flights from late this year to next spring to integrate its hardware and software systems. Apeiron, the company's newest spaceship, landed at Spaceport America in late October.

The company is counting on higher ticket prices and defense work to boost its revenue streams as it readies its next vehicles for service.

The next milestones are the integration of Virgin Galactic's hardware and software systems and the start of commercial flights, targeted for the second quarter of 2027. The company's plan to expand rocket production capabilities under its agreement with the Air Force Research Laboratory also remains to be developed.