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Virgin Australia is relaunching in a slimmed-down form. The Australian airline will cut 3,000 jobs and stop operating long-haul flights. Subsidiary Tigerair Australia will cease operations, and the Virgin Australia ART’s, Airbus A330s and Boeing 777s will leave the fleet.
The corona crisis almost meant the downfall for Virgin Australia, which filed for voluntary deferment in April. The company is now making a new start, but has been considerably stripped down.
Long-haul flights will be canceled, eliminating the need for the services of the Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200. The regional ATR fleet also has to clear the field, as a result of which Virgin Australia will only fly with Boeing 737s and will focus on offering cheap domestic flights. This means there is no longer any room for the Tigerair Australia, which will be closed down.
Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah says the measures will save 6,000 direct and 30,000 indirect jobs. “Domestic and regional air traffic will pick up the most in the coming years, so that is where our opportunities lie. We have to use that to become successful again, and we will do that with our investor Bain Capital. ”
In the long term, Scurrah hopes to be able to offer long haul flights again. “But that is not an option in the current market.” Tigerair does not return as a brand. “It doesn’t make sense to keep two brands up and running.”