Virgin Galactic Stock Jumps 32% as Spaceflight Ticket Sales Open With $150,000 Deposit

Virgin Galactic ticket prices start at $450,000 for a single seat, as the company revealed last year, with three different sales offerings.
For much of the last decade, the company has had about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, with those tickets sold largely between $200,000 and $250,000 each.
Alongside opening ticket sales to the public, Virgin Galactic also revealed it will replace the iris of Sir Richard Branson in its logo with a purple outline of its spacecraft.

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced Tuesday that it will open ticket sales to the public for the first time on Wednesday, requiring a $150,000 deposit.

Virgin Galactic ticket prices start at $450,000 each, as the company revealed last year, with three different sales offerings: a single seat purchase, packaged seats for couples, friends or family, or opportunities to book entire flights. The company has said previously that — of the $150,000 deposit — $25,000 is not refundable.

Shares of Virgin Galactic jumped 32% in trading to close at $10.74. The stock has been battered over the past 12 months, dropping 80%, with the company having delayed the beginning of commercial spaceflights to late this year.

Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.

For much of the last decade, Virgin Galactic has had about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, with those tickets sold largely between $200,000 and $250,000 each. In August, the company opened ticket sales at the $450,000 price to those who had expressed interest. It had sold about 100 additional tickets as of November.

Alongside opening ticket sales to the public, Virgin Galactic also revealed it is replacing the iris of Sir Richard Branson in its logo with a purple outline of its spacecraft. The move distances Virgin Galactic from its founder, with Branson having sold more than $1.25 billion in stock since the company went public in 2019 and achieved his longtime dream of passing the U.S. boundary of space in July.