Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.
SPCE 6.15%
said it plans to charge consumers at least $450,000 for a seat on its space flights, setting a new price marker in the nascent space-tourism industry.
The company founded by billionaire
Richard Branson
on Thursday also said it was reopening ticket sales for future trips, prioritizing those who have already expressed interest in buying a seat on a flight. Virgin Galactic will offer for sale everything from single seats on its spacecraft to an option to buy out the entire six-seat cabin on its spacecraft.
“We expect many consumers will want to fly with friends or family, and we will customize the experience to meet their individual preferences,” Virgin Galactic Chief Executive
Michael Colglazier
told investors Thursday.
Shares for Virgin Galactic were up around 8% Friday morning.
Last month, Virgin Galactic flew Richard Branson and three company executives more than 50 miles up, departing from the Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.
Photo:
Roberto E. Rosales/Zuma Press
Virgin Galactic and
Jeff Bezos
’ Blue Origin LLC are preparing to start ferrying consumers to space following their respective high-profile flights last month with their founders on board.
The level of demand for such trips isn’t fully clear, though some analysts have estimated the industry by 2030 could generate nearly $4 billion in sales for that year. Virgin Galactic has said it has 600 reservations for future flights, while Mr. Bezos said in July that Blue Origin was approaching $100 million in ticket sales.
Other companies, including Space Exploration Technologies Corp., the formal name for
Elon Musk’s
SpaceX, are also eyeing the space-tourism market.
Boeing Co.
BA 0.58%
has said tourists could take seats on future missions of its Starliner space capsule.
Virgin Galactic had previously said it sold tickets for space flights at as much as $250,000 each. The $450,000 per-seat price, meanwhile, is more than what some analysts had been expecting.
Last month, the company flew Mr. Branson and three Virgin Galactic executives more than 50 miles up, departing from the Spaceport America facility in New Mexico.
In addition, Virgin Galactic said it plans to charge the equivalent of $600,000 a seat for research and professional-astronaut missions.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at [email protected]
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