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Rehabilitated Virgin Australia leases 10 737-800s to ride nation’s passenger traffic surge
April 15th 2021
Virgin Australia (VA) said today it had reached agreement with aircraft lessors to add 10 737-800s to its fleet for domestic expansion. Read More » Three 737-800s were due to enter service this month, with the remaining seven added by October. VA CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said the airline was expecting to be at 80% of its pre-COVID-19 domestic capacity by mid-June. "More aircraft means more flying. With easing travel restrictions, there are more opportunities to further support domestic tourism and the nation’s economic recovery from COVID-19," Hrdlicka said in a statement. "Today, we are operating around 850 weekly return flights. As we approach the June school holidays, we will add 220 return flights per week to our schedule." To support the extra flying, VA said it would re-employ 220 cabin crew stood down during the pandemic and begin a recruitment drive for 150 cabin crew.
