Virgin Australia is considering reintroducing widebody aircraft into its fleet, but any concrete plans are still a few years down the road, according to CEO Dave Emerson. For now, the airline is leveraging its partnership with Qatar Airways, which owns a 25% stake in Virgin Australia. Through this collaboration, Qatar Airways is wet-leasing Boeing 777-300ERs to Virgin, facilitating direct flights from Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney to Doha. Melbourne is also set to join the lineup in December. This partnership is a strategic move for Virgin, allowing it to dip its toes back into long-haul international travel without committing to a full fleet overhaul just yet.
Earlier this year, Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways teamed up in a unique arrangement that significantly boosts capacity between Australia and the Middle East. This partnership not only offers seamless connections to Qatar Airways’ extensive network across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa but also provides reciprocal benefits for frequent flyers. By using Qatar Airways’ aircraft, Virgin Australia is effectively testing the waters for future long-haul operations. The current agreement spans five years, during which Virgin will evaluate the performance of these routes before deciding on a potential fleet expansion. If the results are promising, the airline may transition from wet-leases to dry-leases and eventually invest in its own widebody aircraft.
On the domestic front, Virgin Australia is gearing up to meet increasing local demand by adding 16 new aircraft to its fleet between July 2025 and June 2026. This includes 12 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and four Embraer 190s, which will replace the aging Fokker 100s in its regional fleet. The airline’s recent IPO, which saw Bain Capital reduce its stake to 40%, is part of a broader strategy to revitalize Virgin Australia and position it for future growth.
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Originally reported by Simple Flying Read More
