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Airlines
Virgin Blue - airline information
General information
Founded in 2000 by Sir Richard Branson, this airline follows the example of the other similar carriers from the empire of the British billionaire entrepreneur. Virgin Blue is a low cost airline based in Brisbane, Australia. The company concentrates primarily on domestic routes, but also operates internationally, connecting Australia with New Zealand and other Island-countries in the southern hemisphere's eastern parts. Virgin Blue has taken advantage of the bankruptcy and disappearance of Ansett Australia, the country's second largest carrier. Virgin Blue could this way take over a large portion of the clients. A relatively young company, Virgin Blue has expanded throughout the years and is a highly successful and important carrier in Australia and the area. Only Qantas is a bigger indigenous airline than Virgin Blue (and, Qantas is the 10th largest airline in the World)/ This article takes a deep look at this interesting low cost carrier that operates "down under". Let's see how this company works and what is it up to in the future.
Fact sheet
Destinations
Virgin Blue has its main base in Brisbane and secondary hubs at the airports of Melbourne, Sydney, Perth. The carrier serves important cities within Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the Southern Pacific and Oceanian area. In 2000 already, the company started operating 7 return flights from Brisbane to Sydney. After a short while, similar high frequencies were applied to other flights from & to major cities. Top holiday destinations and major cities across Australia are the main targets of this airline. Recently, Virgin Blue has expressed its desire to enter the Asian market. With the order of 7 Boeing 777s, the low cost carrier is probably planning to operate flights to popular Australian travelers' destinations in Southeast Asia. Possibly, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong could be on the list of potential new targets for this carrier.
Fleet
The airline operates a wider variety of airplane types, differing from this point of view from the most successful major low cost airlines (such as Ryanair, easyJet, SouthWest Airlines, JetBlue, WIZZ Air, etc.), which usually concentrate on using either a single type or predominantly one type of aircraft. Beside the most popular passenger carrier 737s, Brazilian Embraer 170s and 190s have also been ordered. And, longer range aircraft, Boeing 777s will also enter into service until the end of 2008. 7 of these airplanes have been ordered. Each one of them can carry over 320 passengers. It is highly probable that Virgin Blue will try to connect Australia with Southeast Asia with its brand new long range 777s.
Activity & market position
Virgin Blue is exploiting Australia's intense air travel market. The distances are long between important cities, rail and travelling would take too much time and would be tiring, therefore air travel is highly needed. Airfare affordability is essential in order to attract the large public. The company's competitiveness is ensured primarily by its low fares, efficient branding & other marketing techniques and of course its fame. A large number of people recognize the Virgin brand and identify it with quality, efficiency and affordability. These 3 main issues were always among the primary concerns of the Virgin Group, created by Sir Richard Branson.
Last modified/updated: April 6, 2007
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