The basic and incomplete earnings numbers provided by Virgin Australia paint a picture that it is both well and truly on the road to recovery just four years after its calamitous collapse, and is making solid inroads into the competitive advantage enjoyed by its great rival Qantas.

Virgin increased group revenue by 6.8 per cent to $5.4 billion in the year ended June 30, with underlying earnings before interest and tax up an impressive 18.2 per cent to $519 million. Virgin’s Velocity loyalty business contributed $115 million in EBIT.