Virgin Australia To Cull A Third Of Its Boeing 737 Fleet Under Bain Ownership

“Once demand returns, it remains our goal to grow our fleet to 75 Boeing 737 aircraft,” the spokeswoman said.

Creditors last week voted in favour of the purchase by U.S. private equity group Bain, paving the way for a strategic overhaul of Australia’s second-biggest airline.

Under Bain’s business plan, Virgin plans to cut a third of its workforce and ditch its widebody planes to focus on being a domestic and short-haul international 737 operator competing against Qantas Airways Ltd.

Virgin Chief Executive Paul Scurrah said last week the airline expected to lose domestic share to Qantas as it exited unprofitable routes. It has also closed low-cost arm Tigerair Australia.