Virgin to bring more staff in-house amid international expansion plans

Fresh from Qantas’ High Court loss, Virgin will no longer outsource baggage handling as it plans to hire more staff and roll out extra international routes.

Virgin Australia will no longer outsource baggage handling for its short-haul international operations as it looks to fly to more destinations overseas as newer aircraft join the fleet in the coming years.

The Brisbane-based airline, led by Jayne Hrdlicka, said the return of local baggage handling operations will take place from February at Sydney and Melbourne airports, and then in May at Brisbane Airport.

As part of changes, Virgin plans to upskill 40 ramp team members, offer additional hours to approximately 1,000 ramp team members and hire more staff.

Virgin general manager airport experience Paul Woosnam said that the decision to insource international baggage handling made sense economically and showed a commitment to furthering opportunities for staff.

“We previously committed to review all opportunities that made good business sense, and this is a great example of our business delivering opportunities for our shareholders and our people,” he said.

The move by Virgin comes after the High Court ruled in September that rival airline Qantas broke the law when it sacked 1700 baggage handlers and outsourced their jobs across nearly a dozen airports in 2020 during the pandemic.

Baggage handlers for international flights will return to the Virgin fold from 2024. Picture: Patrick Hamilton/AFP

Virgin currently has 10 to 12 daily international flights flying to six destinations including Bali, Queenstown, Fiji, Vanuatu and Samoa, and Mr Woosnam said the airline will look to expand that network as more aircraft join the fleet.

“There are plans to grow in this area as we receive our new fleet of fuel-efficient aircraft, presenting great opportunities for Virgin Australia, as well as opportunities for our people to grow and develop,” Mr Woosnam said.

Virgin will receive a further 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8s which can fly 6500km and are currently used on flights between Cairns and Tokyo, while 25 of the MAX 10 variant will join the fleet from 2025. The airline previously flew to far-flung destinations such as Los Angeles before

entered into administration and was acquired by Bain Capital.

Virgin last week avoided industrial action over Christmas after striking a deal with cabin crew offering increased pay and more time off. The Transport Workers’ Union said the agreement struck with Virgin would deliver salary increases of between 14 per cent and 18 per cent to crew over a three-year period.

The airline is eyeing May as the most likely date for an initial public offering after tumultuous equity market conditions meant it had to rule out a float this calendar year.