Slimmed down Virgin Australia kills off budget brand Tigerair

Monday, 05 Aug, 2020 0

Virgin Australia has outlined its new strategy under the new ownership of Bain Capital.

It is ditching the budget Tigerair Australia brand and will transition to an all-Boeing 737 fleet.

That means an end to long-haul flying in the short term.

It will offload ATR 72, Boeing 777, Airbus A330 and Airbus A320 aircraft.

The restructure will ‘help to re-establish Virgin Australia and bring strong competition for the traveller’, said CEO Paul Scurrah.

"Demand for domestic and short-haul international travel is likely to take at least three years to return to pre-Covid-19 levels, with the real chance it could be longer, which means as a business we must make changes to ensure the Virgin Australia Group is successful in this new world."

The airline said it will continue suspending flights to Los Angeles and Tokyo but hopes to restart some long-haul flights sometime in the future when demand picks up.

It sees a future for business travel, and plans to reopen its airport lounges when demand picks up.

The new changes mean the airline will have to downsize and said it will have to cut a third of its workforce.

That will lead to the loss of about 3.000 jobs.

By Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor

TravelMole Editorial Team

Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

Local spices spike the fragrant air of Morocco. Cradled by the dunes of the Sahara, the Kingdom has been inhabited...

City Cruises is a leading operator of sightseeing, dining and charter services operating in London, York and Poole. We offer...

NSW, Australia Welcome to New South Wales – a place to feel free, feel alive, feel new. As the official...

Travel specialists founded the company in 1999 as AC Tours. Since then we have grown and expanded to incorporate four...

The Oregon Tourism Commission, dba Travel Oregon, works to enhance visitors’ experiences by providing information, resources and trip planning tools...

Traveltek is the world-leading provider of online solutions for the travel trade, from consumer-facing websites to call centre applications. We...

Here at Elegant Resorts, luxury travel is in our DNA. True pioneers in the industry, we were the first specialist...

We’re the number one choice for travelers to the Greek Islands and Eastern Mediterranean – a fact we love to...

Since its launch in 1999, TravelMole.com has become, one of the largest global online travel industry communities. It is comprised...

We make travel accessible for everyone We believe everyone should be free to experience the world. For us, there’s no...

Classic Collection is where travel expertise and personal service combine to create the perfect luxury holiday. Our travel agent partners...

Hilton is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 22 world-class brands comprising nearly 7,300 properties and more than 1.1 million rooms, in...

For over 18 years and over 106 completed events, the Travel & Adventure Show has connected over 2.5 million travel...

Central Florida’s Polk County is conveniently located between Orlando and Tampa, and an easy drive to Central Florida attractions and...

Atout France guides and supports the French regions with their development strategy and helps set up investment projects in order...

ECOMMPAY is an international payment service provider and direct bank card acquirer, engineering bespoke payment solutions for clients worldwide. Our...