--- title: "British Airways vs Virgin Atlantic: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is British Airways or Virgin Atlantic more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Airlines set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/british-airways-vs-virgin-atlantic" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # British Airways vs Virgin Atlantic: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is British Airways or Virgin Atlantic more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Airlines set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: British Airways and Virgin Atlantic - **Competitive set**: Airlines - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **British Airways Share of Search**: 22.3% - **Virgin Atlantic Share of Search**: 5.5% ## Is British Airways or Virgin Atlantic more popular in search? - In September 2026, British Airways had more branded searches than Virgin Atlantic among airlines in the United Kingdom. British Airways had about 1.8 million branded searches, while Virgin Atlantic had 450,000. British Airways made up 22.3% of all airline searches we track, and Virgin Atlantic accounted for 5.5%. - British Airways was ahead of Virgin Atlantic in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, British Airways’ share of searches among airlines in the United Kingdom moved from 21.4% to 22.3%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.8M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Virgin Atlantic’s share of searches among airlines in the United Kingdom moved from 5.3% to 5.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 450K. ## Top airlines in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic were each mentioned in two out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Virgin Atlantic was listed before British Airways in every answer that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Ryanair | 1st | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | easyJet | 2nd | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Jet2 | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Emirates | 4th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Virgin Atlantic | 5th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | British Airways | 6th | 2 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Wizz Air | 7th | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about airlines - Asked ChatGPT "Which airline should I fly with from the UK?": 1. Jet2, 2. Emirates, 3. Virgin Atlantic, 4. British Airways - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best airlines in the UK?": 1. Jet2, 2. Emirates, 3. Virgin Atlantic, 4. British Airways, 5. easyJet, 6. Ryanair - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best low cost airline for flights from the UK to Europe?": 1. easyJet, 2. Ryanair, 3. Wizz Air, 4. Jet2 - Searched Google, AI Overview "flights": 1. Ryanair, 2. easyJet - Searched Google, AI Overview "cheap flights": 1. Ryanair, 2. easyJet Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 22, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom airlines in September 2026? - In September 2026, British Airways gained share of searches among airlines in the United Kingdom, from 19.9% to 22.3%. - In September 2026, Virgin Atlantic gained share of searches among airlines in the United Kingdom, from 4.9% to 5.5%. ## Month by month | Month | British Airways estimated searches | British Airways Share of Search | British Airways rank | Virgin Atlantic estimated searches | Virgin Atlantic Share of Search | Virgin Atlantic rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.8M | 21.4% | 3 | 450K | 5.3% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 1.8M | 24% | 1 | 368K | 4.8% | 7 | | Dec 2025 | 1.8M | 25.9% | 1 | 368K | 5.2% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 2.7M | 22.9% | 2 | 550K | 4.6% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 1.8M | 19.5% | 3 | 450K | 4.8% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 2.2M | 21.2% | 3 | 450K | 4.3% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 1.8M | 19.6% | 3 | 450K | 4.8% | 5 | | May 2026 | 1.8M | 19.5% | 3 | 368K | 3.9% | 7 | | Jun 2026 | 1.8M | 20.8% | 3 | 368K | 4.2% | 7 | | Jul 2026 | 1.8M | 19.2% | 3 | 368K | 3.9% | 7 | | Aug 2026 | 1.8M | 19.9% | 2 | 450K | 4.9% | 5 | | Sep 2026 | 1.8M | 22.3% | 2 | 450K | 5.5% | 5 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using British Airways’ and Virgin Atlantic’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **British Airways**: Measured on the search term “british airways”. - **Virgin Atlantic**: Measured on the search term “virgin atlantic”. - [British Airways profile](/demand/uk/brands/british-airways) - [Virgin Atlantic profile](/demand/uk/brands/virgin-atlantic) - [All airlines in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-airlines): The set both shares are measured inside, 7 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is British Airways or Virgin Atlantic more popular in search? In September 2026, British Airways had more branded searches than Virgin Atlantic among airlines in the United Kingdom. British Airways had about 1.8 million branded searches, while Virgin Atlantic had 450,000. British Airways made up 22.3% of all airline searches we track, and Virgin Atlantic accounted for 5.5%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "British Airways vs Virgin Atlantic: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/british-airways-vs-virgin-atlantic This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/british-airways-vs-virgin-atlantic. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.