History of Virgin Australia Airlines
Since its launch in August 2000 as a two-aircraft operation offering seven return flights a day between Brisbane and Sydney, Virgin Australia has committed itself to a path of excellence in customer service, design, development initiatives and fuel efficiencies. Today, it is a respected international carrier, operating over 84 modern Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft on domestic, regional and international routes – all while maintaining its presence in the market as a budget-price leader.
Here are some of the milestones along the way:
A crackerjack start
From one route, two aircraft and 200 brand new employees to 14 domestic routes and 1 million passengers, all before the end of their first year - Virgin Australia (in its livery as Virgin Blue) set the pace that others would soon be following.
Pacific Heights
Between 2002 and 2004, the airline continued its domestic growth, while branching out into the holiday market with ‘Blue Holidays’ and into the Pacific with Pacific Blue, (operating the trans-Tasman and Pacific Islands services), and Polynesian Blue, (a joint venture with the Samoan Government) to operate direct flights to and from Apia out of Sydney and Auckland and other connections.
Online for success
By 2005, Virgin Australia’s developers had delivered their web-based check-in system bringing the airline another ‘first’. In the same year, they launched the innovative rewards and mileage program, Velocity Rewards.
Many alliances equal many flights with Virgin Australia
Virgin Australia (still Virgin Blue) began exploring marketing alliances with other airlines after the demise of Ansett at the end of 2001. At this point, it began a codeshare agreement with United Airlines, enabling United customers to fly from North America to any of Virgin Australia’s domestic and regional destinations that United did not already serve. By 2006, the airline had further extended these arrangements, and formed frequent flyer agreements with Emirates, Hawaiian Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.
V takes flight
The end of 2008 saw the launch of yet another Virgin brand carrier – V Australia, a three-class international airline that began its operations with direct daily flights between Sydney and Los Angeles.
Virgin Australia and Thai Airways link up
2008 also saw an interline agreement between Virgin Australia (still Virgin Blue at the time) and Thai Airways, to provide a seamless travel product between, and within, Australia and Thailand. Virgin Blue provided carriage from 13 key Australian destinations, via Thai Airway’s four international gateway ports of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand. The Australian domestic destinations included in the interline agreement are: Adelaide, Canberra, Broome, Mackay, Rockhampton, Maroochydore, Cairns, Townsville, Hobart, Launceston, Ballina, Coffs Harbour and the Gold Coast.
By 2010, Virgin Airlines had appointed a new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, John Borghetti; its development team delivered the new mobile check-in application Check-Mate, and the airline was awarded “Best Low-Cost Airline(Asia/Pacific)”by Skytrax World Airline Awards ... for the fourth time (having won it in 2002, 2004 and 2008).
Virgin Australia takes the stage
There has been a great deal of glossing over and several key footnotes in this airlines’ history are missing, however, space is short. In 2011, Virgin Australia took the stage, bringing under its wing all the ‘Blues’ with a remit to continue Virgin Australia’s commitment to customer service, affordable travel, technical initiatives and operating efficiencies.
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