Virgin bulks up fleet in hope of summer travel boom

Virgin Australia will add another nine 737s to its fleet in the hope of taking market share off Qantas when interstate borders reopen.

Virgin Australia’s all Boeing 737 fleet is growing with the airline set to add another nine aircraft. Picture: Brendan Radke

Virgin Australia is preparing to bulk up its fleet in time for the reopening of interstate borders with the intention of clawing back valuable market share from Qantas.

After trimming its fleet to as few as 56 aircraft following the airline’s sale to US private equity firm Bain Capital, Virgin Australia has slowly been rebuilding.

From October, another nine Boeing 737s will start arriving, increasing the fleet size to 77 by mid-February.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the aircraft would help meet demand over the peak summer season when interstate borders were expected to stay open in line with higher vaccination rates.

“Airlines around the world have had to bend and stretch over the past 18 months as our fleets, teams and wider operations have responded to unprecedented border restrictions and demand volatility. But we at Virgin Australia are crystal clear that the underlying consumer desire for travel is strong,” Ms Hrdlicka said.

“These extra aircraft are an important part of our planning and will ensure we’re ready to ramp up flying and meet the pent up demand for domestic travel as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”

She said the extra fleet capacity would help Virgin reach its target of 33 per cent of the domestic market, by increasing frequency and network.

That will mean taking market share off Qantas and Jetstar, which currently have over 70 per cent.

“While our recent efforts have been directed toward adapting to and managing through a very difficult few months for communities and businesses throughout the country, we’ve also maintained a consistent focus on our strategy and medium term growth opportunities,” said Ms Hrdlicka.

The larger fleet would support hundreds of jobs across the airline, with Virgin Australia launching a recruitment drive prior to the Sydney and Melbourne Covid outbreaks.

The announcement followed Qantas’s news of a $2.35bn full year loss, accompanied by a commitment to restart international flying in mid-December, providing borders were open.

Although Virgin’s plans for resuming trans-Tasman travel have been thwarted by the suspension of the bubble, the airline remained committed to short-haul international flying.

To that end, Virgin had begun planning for the mid-2023 arrival of its first Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft.

With a longer range than the 737-800s and the capacity for 230 passengers, the Max 10s are expected to be used by Virgin on high-density domestic routes and short-haul international.

The airline has 25 of the aircraft on order, which will boost its fleet to over 100.