Reuters in Frankfurt says that Virgin Blue is close to reaching an aircraft deal for international services, with Germany’s Boersen-Zeitung quoting a senior company executive,Chief Commercial Officer Stefan Pichler saying that plans to launch long-haul flights were in “intensive preparations”.
Reuters goes on to say that Virgin Blue is Australia’s second-biggest airline and has about one-third of the country’s domestic aviation market, where it competes against Qantas and budget carrier Jetstar, the company saying last month it planned to launch international long-haul operations by late 2008.
Pichler also said that Virgin Blue was already in talks with aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus about supplying planes, and that an agreement should be announced soon.
He declined to comment on further details, the newspaper said, beyond saying that flights to the United States were first on the agenda.
Virgin Blue is expected to provide further details about its expansion plans at its half-year results next month.
Report by The Mole from Reuters
