If the year 2020 was Virgin Australia’s worst year and 2021 was their year of redemption, it was 2021 that Virgin Australia started getting its mojo back. The year wasn’t a smooth one for Virgin Australia; however, throughout the year 2021, Virgin Australia kept rolling out various product and network enhancements.
Twenty months after Virgin Australia went into voluntary administration, The airline hasn’t returned to its pre-administration image at this point. However, Virgin Australia is well on its way to. Here are five awesome steps Virgin Australia made this year to bring passengers back on board.
Virgin Australia upsizes its fleet and is experimenting with new city pair
At the time of last year, Virgin Australia had downsized to 55 aircraft and restructured to become an airline with just one aircraft that stayed with Boeing 737-800s. They also rebranded the Airbus A330s, ATR72s, and Boeing 777s also got the glare.
However, it appeared that Virgin Australia would abandon most of its regional flights by focusing on majoring Australian trunk routes and some key leisure destinations. However, it has become an eternal source of network and fleet surprise.
Virgin Australia is still sticking to the Boeing 737 standard; however, they’ve increased the fleet by almost 50% within twelve months. They’ve also introduced many new routes that show an element of adventure that is welcome.
Attracting a lot of attention was a long-forgotten Tasmania. Before the voluntary administration, Virgin Australia flew nonstop to three destinations from Hobart, the Tasmanian capital, Hobart. Today, they fly to six. Northern Tasmanian town of Launceston has also increased the number of Virgin Australia city pairs to six.
What’s fascinating, crazy brave, and adventurous about many city pairs is that there hasn’t been a single airline to fly them for a long time, if at all. It was great to observe Virgin Australia step out of their familiar territory this year to test some new routes that aren’t yet tested to try.
Virgin Australia puts Noodlegate behind it and sorts its food distribution.
Virgin Australia hit a low level of water in late 2013 after a dissatisfied business class guest posted an image on the internet of a bowl of instant noodles, which was a business class meal. The picture became viral and was swiftly posted on Noodlegate. Twelve months after, Virgin Australia has picked up the catering game. In March, the company put out a new menu of catering for the business class that has been praised by many. Hot, cafe-style meals are served in large bowls, and the complimentary beverages flow freely.
The main cabin offered complimentary coffee, tea, and water. Virgin Australia introduced a purchase-on-board menu. This menu was not so well-received. The lack of hot food options, especially on longer flights, was also critiqued.
After some pretty ordinary catering offerings in 2020, Virgin Australia has lifted its food & beverage game this year. Photo: Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia has recently sorted this issue by adding more fresh, substantial items to the economy menu, including sandwiches, wraps, and hot pies. In a pinch of icing, Violet Crumbles and Cheezels are also available for purchase.
Business-class is now available because of requests. Virgin Australia is doubling the supply of sparkling wine with sparkling wine on every flight. Sparkling wine is becoming a favorite drink before departure for Business class customers.
Two bright lounges after the closure of several places
It was an incredibly sad year for the lounge frequents of Virgin Australia. The airline shut down more than half of its lounges, including at major airports such as Cairns in Cairns and Darwin. Unfortunately, this put Virgin Australia at a serious disadvantage to its rival Qantas, particularly when it comes to chasing the corporate dollar as well as high-end passengers.
Virgin Australia has made no plans to reopen lounges that have been closed. However, they have revamped two existing lounges, and they’ve done an excellent job. Both Melbourne, as well as the Adelaide lounges, opened this year to great reviews and, in both cities, at the very least, allowed Qantas to compete.
Airline lounges are a bizarre concept. They attract a tiny percentage of travelers. However, this minority constitutes a significant passengers base. They generally fly quite a bit. Virgin Australia’s new(ish) CEO Jayne Hrdlicka doesn’t have to chase the corporate market that loves lounges as much as the previous CEOs. Virgin Australia has analyzed the cost-benefit ratio and has calculated that they aren’t the most impressive regarding their footprint in airport lounges.
Delta was sacked in the same week Virgin Australia snuggles up to United Airlines.
Many Virgin Australia loyalists almost choked in their coffee for breakfast recently when they read the latest news. Virgin Australia was dumping its long-time North American codeshare buddy Delta Air Lines.
In a dramatic “it was enjoyable during the time” changeeroo Virgin Australia decided United Airlines was better for them. It’s a good thing in many aspects. This is logical. Before the recession, United had the most extensive network of any North American airline in Australia and impressive brand recognition.
United celebrated the alliance with full-page advertisements in the major metropolitan newspapers across Australia. It was similar to an application for citizenship.
However, many Australia-based Virgin Australia passengers preferred the Delta inflight service. The departure of Delta led to various speculations. The United partnership grants Virgin Australia a significant transpacific presence, but it does not have a transpacific presence as it did in the past.
The United tie-up allows Virgin Australia to indefinitely defer any long-haul flights using its aircraft in a time that it is unable to afford such a costly undertaking. The tie-up also provided a fresh boost to the ongoing discussion of Virgin Australia joining Star Alliance. However, the regions like Star Alliance members Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand would have certain opinions about this.
Virgin Australia resumes international flying.
To finish 2018 on a positive end, Virgin Australia resumed international operations. Although it was only a short segment and there were only two routes, it was an important move in the right direction. In the middle of December, Virgin Australia restarted flights between Sydney and Nadi and Melbourne and Nadi.
These flights are vast from Virgin Australia’s luxurious Boeing 777 ER routes from Los Angeles that ended in the early part of 2020. However, when the announcement was made, there was doubt that Virgin Australia would ever resume international flights.
At this point, the relaunched flights to Fiji are achievements to Virgin Australia. It’s not a huge leap. However, it’s baby steps forward, not reverse. This year, Virgin Australia is eyeing flights to Bali and New Zealand, subject to travel limitations.
Chief Executive Officer Jayne Hrdlicka said at the launch of the relaunch in mid-December, Virgin Australia had held the largest percentage of the market of all Australian airlines for services up to the beginning of the travel slowdown offered to Fiji. The airline also aims to remain competitive.
Virgin Australia has continued to launch improvements to network and product offerings all through. There’s a long way to travel. However, Virgin Australia is coming along with speed and efficiency after a slow start to post-administration. It will soon be amazing to see what the long run supports for 2022.
