Virgin Atlantic narrows 2013 annual loss

London- Privately-owned British airline Virgin Atlantic said its annual loss narrowed by 50% in 2013, putting it on track to return to profitability by the end of this year.

The airline, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, on Thursday reported a group pretax loss of £51m for the twelve months to end December last year, compared to the £102m loss arising from the year earlier, a pro forma figure reflecting the firm's new reporting period.

"The group has made good progress in 2013 towards our target of a return to profitability by the end of this year," chief executive Craig Kreeger said in a statement on Thursday.