Battle · 8 companies
UK airlines
From long-haul flag carriers to island hoppers. Who flies at a profit?
British Airways leads on turnover, pre-tax profit, profit margin and net assets; Ryanair UK on growth. British Airways is the biggest by turnover at £14,679m, against £10,106m at easyJet. British Airways keeps the most of every £100 it takes, £16.55 as pre-tax profit.
The year ends are up to 12 months apart, so this compares each company's most recent filing rather than the same twelve months. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet and Jet2 file group accounts that include subsidiaries; TUI, Wizz Air UK, Ryanair UK and Loganair file for a single company, which flatters the groups on size. Ryanair UK files its accounts in euros; its figures here are in pounds at Bank of England rates (the average over the year for income and profit, the year-end rate for net assets and cash), and growth is measured in the filing's own currency.
Accounts compared: British Airways to Dec 2025 · Virgin Atlantic to Dec 2025 · easyJet to Sep 2025 · Jet2 to Mar 2026 · TUI to Sep 2025 · Wizz Air UK to Mar 2025 · Ryanair UK to Mar 2025 · Loganair to Mar 2025
The Numbers
| # | Company | Turnover | Change | Pre-tax profit | Margin | Employees | Pay per head | Turnover per head | Net assets | Bank and cash | Accounts to | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | British AirwaysBritish Airways PLC | £14,679m | +0.8% | £2,429m | 16.5% | 41,908 | £75,000 | £350,000 | £6,367m | £1,593m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 2 | easyJeteasyJet PLC | £10,106m | +8.6% | £658m | 6.5% | 18,968 | £78,000 | £533,000 | £3,498m | £1,504m | Sep 2025 | Group |
| 3 | Jet2Jet2 PLC | £7,482m | +4.3% | £551m | 7.4% | 15,795 | £57,000 | £474,000 | £2,061m | £1,519m | Mar 2026 | Group |
| 4 | TUITUI UK Limited | £6,343m | +4.1% | -£68m | -1.1% | 2,870 | £61,000 | £2.2m | -£627m | £77m | Sep 2025 | Single company |
| 5 | Virgin AtlanticVirgin Atlantic Airways Limited | £3,370m | +2.1% | -£194m | -5.8% | 8,036 | £68,000 | £419,000 | -£1,253m | £429m | Dec 2025 | Group |
| 6 | Wizz Air UKWizz Air UK Limited | £447m | +6.2% | -£44m | -9.9% | 886 | £75,000 | £505,000 | -£47m | £85m | Mar 2025 | Single company |
| 7 | Ryanair UKRyanair UK Limited | £355m | +29.2% | £6m | 1.6% | 343 | £99,000 | £1.0m | £9m | n/d | Mar 2025 | Single company |
| 8 | LoganairLoganair Limited | £253m | -4.2% | £11m | 4.3% | 878 | £59,000 | £288,000 | £13m | £13m | Mar 2025 | Single company |
Ranked by turnover. Click any column to sort. The leader on each measure is highlighted. Movements are against each company's own prior year. Pre-tax profit is filed except where marked (est.).
Category winners
Biggest by turnover
British Airways
£14,679m
Most pre-tax profit
British Airways
£2,429m
Highest profit margin
British Airways
16.5%
Fastest-growing turnover
Ryanair UK
+29.2%
Biggest employer
British Airways
41,908 staff
Highest pay per head
Ryanair UK
£99,000
Most turnover per head
TUI
£2.2m
Largest net assets
British Airways
£6,367m
Most cash
British Airways
£1,593m
The Takeaway
- British Airways converts the most of its turnover. Of every £100, £16.55 reaches pre-tax profit, against a loss of £9.93 at Wizz Air UK.
- British Airways is the largest on the top line, £14,679m of turnover, 1.5x easyJet's £10,106m.
- Ryanair UK is growing fastest, turnover +29.2% on its own prior year. Loganair went backwards.
- British Airways is the biggest employer with 41,908 people; Ryanair UK pays the most per head, an average staff cost of about £99,000.
- British Airways has the largest balance sheet, net assets of £6,367m.
Who keeps the most of every £100 of sales?
British Airways keeps the most: £16.55 of every £100 of turnover becomes pre-tax profit. Wizz Air UK does worst, losing £9.93.
Financing bites hardest at Virgin Atlantic: £10.12 of every £100 goes on interest.
Every profit figure here is the one the company filed.
The chart splits each company's turnover into £100: what goes on people, on interest and on everything else, and what is left as profit.
Out of every £100 of turnover
Each bar is £100 of that company's own turnover, so companies of any size compare on one scale; the figures are pounds out of each £100, not millions. Companies run from the best margin to the worst. Payroll is staff costs, financing is interest paid, other running costs are everything else, and profit is pre-tax profit, filed or estimated as marked in the table. A loss is not an extra cost: it is the part of the costs that runs past the £100 line, marked with a red bracket. Hover over any segment for its figure.
Who is the biggest, and does the comparison hold?
By turnover the order is British Airways (£14,679m), easyJet (£10,106m), Jet2 (£7,482m), TUI (£6,343m), Virgin Atlantic (£3,370m), Wizz Air UK (£447m), Ryanair UK (£355m), Loganair (£253m).
By headcount, British Airways leads with 41,908 employees.
The comparison holds with the dates stated plainly: British Airways to Dec 2025, Virgin Atlantic to Dec 2025, easyJet to Sep 2025, Jet2 to Mar 2026, TUI to Sep 2025, Wizz Air UK to Mar 2025, Ryanair UK to Mar 2025, Loganair to Mar 2025. The bases differ: group accounts include the businesses a company owns, single-company accounts do not.
Turnover on the latest filing
Who is growing fastest?
Ryanair UK grew fastest, turnover +29.2% on its own prior year, ahead of easyJet (+8.6%), Wizz Air UK (+6.2%), Jet2 (+4.3%), TUI (+4.1%), Virgin Atlantic (+2.1%), British Airways (+0.8%), Loganair (-4.2%).
Turnover change on each company's own prior year
Who employs the most, who pays the most, and who brings in the most per head?
British Airways employs the most, 41,908 people, against 18,968 at easyJet.
Ryanair UK has the highest average staff cost, about £99,000 a head; Jet2 the lowest, about £57,000.
TUI brings in the most turnover per employee, about £2.2m, against £288,000 at Loganair. It says as much about the business model as the workforce: a marketplace or a wholesaler needs far fewer people per pound than a restaurant or a gym.
British Airways
41,908
employees, about £75,000 pay a head, £350,000 turnover a head, +3.4% on the year
Virgin Atlantic
8,036
employees, about £68,000 pay a head, £419,000 turnover a head, +5.3% on the year
easyJet
18,968
employees, about £78,000 pay a head, £533,000 turnover a head, +7.5% on the year
Jet2
15,795
employees, about £57,000 pay a head, £474,000 turnover a head, +3.9% on the year
TUI
2,870
employees, about £61,000 pay a head, £2.2m turnover a head, +2.9% on the year
Wizz Air UK
886
employees, about £75,000 pay a head, £505,000 turnover a head, +7.1% on the year
Ryanair UK
343
employees, about £99,000 pay a head, £1.0m turnover a head, +8.2% on the year
Loganair
878
employees, about £59,000 pay a head, £288,000 turnover a head, -2.3% on the year
Who owns each one?
Ownership as recorded on the Companies House register of people with significant control, in the bands the register uses.
Held by International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 46 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns British Airways →
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited · 01600117Held by Virgin Travel Group Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 43 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Virgin Atlantic →
easyJet PLC · 03959649Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register.
Who owns easyJet →
Jet2 PLC · 01295221Owned by its shareholders
Listed on the London Stock Exchange, so no single controller appears on the register. 13 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Jet2 →
TUI UK Limited · 02830117Held by Tui Travel Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns TUI →
Wizz Air UK Limited · 10982241Held by Wizz Air Holdings Plc
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 24 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Wizz Air UK →
Ryanair UK Limited · 01917579Held by Westminster Aviation Holdings Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control.
Who owns Ryanair UK →
Loganair Limited · SC170072Held by Airline Investments Limited
A company recorded as a person with significant control. 6 outstanding charges on the register.
Who owns Loganair →
What does the full ledger show?
| Measure | British Airways | Virgin Atlantic | easyJet | Jet2 | TUI | Wizz Air UK | Ryanair UK | Loganair |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered name | BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC | VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS LIMITED | EASYJET PLC | JET2 PLC | TUI UK LIMITED | WIZZ AIR UK LIMITED | RYANAIR UK LIMITED | LOGANAIR LIMITED |
| Company number | 01777777 | 01600117 | 03959649 | 01295221 | 02830117 | 10982241 | 01917579 | SC170072 |
| Incorporated | 1983 | 1981 | 2000 | 1977 | 1993 | 2017 | 1985 | 1996 |
| Accounts filed | 4 June 2026 | 10 May 2026 | 24 February 2026 | 14 September 2026 | 13 March 2026 | 5 January 2026 | 20 December 2025 | 27 November 2025 |
| Turnover, prior year | £14,568m | £3,301m | £9,309m | £7,174m | £6,092m | £421m | £282m | £264m |
| Pre-tax profit, prior year | £2,835m | -£79m | £602m | £593m | -£61m | -£22m | £8m | £7m |
| Staff costs | £3,142m | £545m | £1,475m | £906m | £174m | £66m | £34m | £52m |
| Payroll share of turnover | 21.4% | 16.2% | 14.6% | 12.1% | 2.7% | 14.9% | 9.6% | 20.6% |
| Employees, prior year | 40,521 | 7,629 | 17,639 | 15,205 | 2,788 | 827 | 317 | 899 |
| Dividends paid | £916m | n/d | £91m | n/d | n/d | n/d | £0k | n/d |
| Charges outstanding | 46 | 43 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6 |
A figure the filing does not disclose is shown as n/d; a zero in a filing is treated as not disclosed. Rounding: below £0.1m in thousands, £0.1m to £2m to one decimal place, above that to the nearest million.
UK airlines: common questions
Who is the biggest of British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, easyJet, Jet2, TUI, Wizz Air UK, Ryanair UK or Loganair?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m in the year to December 2025.
Which makes the most profit?
British Airways: £2,429m pre-tax in the year to December 2025.
Which employs the most people?
British Airways, with 41,908 employees in its latest accounts.
British Airways or Virgin Atlantic: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £3,370m at Virgin Atlantic on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
British Airways or easyJet: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £10,106m at easyJet on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
British Airways or Jet2: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £7,482m at Jet2 on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
British Airways or TUI: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £6,343m at TUI on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
British Airways or Wizz Air UK: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £447m at Wizz Air UK on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
British Airways or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
British Airways or Loganair: which is bigger?
British Airways, with turnover of £14,679m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, British Airways keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or easyJet: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £3,370m at Virgin Atlantic on their latest filings. On margin, easyJet keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or Jet2: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,482m against £3,370m at Virgin Atlantic on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or TUI: which is bigger?
TUI, with turnover of £6,343m against £3,370m at Virgin Atlantic on their latest filings. On margin, TUI keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or Wizz Air UK: which is bigger?
Virgin Atlantic, with turnover of £3,370m against £447m at Wizz Air UK on their latest filings. On margin, Virgin Atlantic keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
Virgin Atlantic, with turnover of £3,370m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, Ryanair UK keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Virgin Atlantic or Loganair: which is bigger?
Virgin Atlantic, with turnover of £3,370m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, Loganair keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
easyJet or Jet2: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £7,482m at Jet2 on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
easyJet or TUI: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £6,343m at TUI on their latest filings. On margin, easyJet keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
easyJet or Wizz Air UK: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £447m at Wizz Air UK on their latest filings. On margin, easyJet keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit. The full head to head is in the VS Series. Read the VS page →
easyJet or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, easyJet keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
easyJet or Loganair: which is bigger?
easyJet, with turnover of £10,106m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, easyJet keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Jet2 or TUI: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,482m against £6,343m at TUI on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Jet2 or Wizz Air UK: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,482m against £447m at Wizz Air UK on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Jet2 or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,482m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Jet2 or Loganair: which is bigger?
Jet2, with turnover of £7,482m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, Jet2 keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
TUI or Wizz Air UK: which is bigger?
TUI, with turnover of £6,343m against £447m at Wizz Air UK on their latest filings. On margin, TUI keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
TUI or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
TUI, with turnover of £6,343m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, Ryanair UK keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
TUI or Loganair: which is bigger?
TUI, with turnover of £6,343m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, Loganair keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Wizz Air UK or Ryanair UK: which is bigger?
Wizz Air UK, with turnover of £447m against £355m at Ryanair UK on their latest filings. On margin, Ryanair UK keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Wizz Air UK or Loganair: which is bigger?
Wizz Air UK, with turnover of £447m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, Loganair keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Ryanair UK or Loganair: which is bigger?
Ryanair UK, with turnover of £355m against £253m at Loganair on their latest filings. On margin, Loganair keeps more of each £100 as pre-tax profit.
Where do these figures come from?
Each company's latest accounts filed at Companies House. Each links to its full Spark Intel profile, which names the filing it comes from.
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