Virgin Australia eyes resumption of widebody operations

Just months after retiring all of its widebody aircraft as a part of its voluntary administration proceedings, Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane Int’l) is considering restarting long-haul flights using new B787-9s, the Executive Traveller has reported. Having completed the acquisition of Virgin Australia Holdings in early September, Bain Capital is reportedly on board with Chief Executive Paul Scurrah’s plan to resume widebody operations to Tokyo Narita and Los Angeles Int’l as its first long-haul destinations. Scurrah said that while the airline had accepted that the recovery of the long-haul market would be very slow, it was confident that it would be able, in due course, to fill the aircraft on these two trunk routes. He added that Virgin Australia had already looked at renewing its widebody fleet with B787s before entering administration earlier this year. The lack of demand for new aircraft could permit the airline to secure the B787s on favourable terms. Prior to its COVID-induced judicial administration, Virgin Australia operated five B777-300(ER)s (of which it owned four) and six A330-200s (all dry-leased). It has since retired all of them (as well as all turboprop ATR72-500s and ATR72-600s) as a part of a reorganisation that will focus on short-haul narrowbody operations. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, the airline’s current fleet encompasses two B737-700s and seventy-four B737-800s (including 15 operated by Virgin Australia International). Virgin Australia also has firm orders for fifteen B737-8s and twenty-five B737-10s.