Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia, formerly known as Virgin Blue, is an Australian airline based in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet size. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 with two aircraft on a single route,^[3] before suddenly emerging as a major airline in Australia's domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. With the airline's business model incorporating features of both a low-cost and full-service airline, it has since grown to become Australia’s largest domestic airline by passenger market share, as of December 2024. As of June 2025, the airline serves 33 destinations across Australia with its Boeing 737 fleets, operating from its hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as from its secondary hubs in Adelaide and Perth.

The airline also operates a limited number of short-haul international flights.^[4] Australian law prohibits majority-foreign-owned local airlines, like Virgin Australia, from operating international flights to and from Australia.^[5] However, Virgin Australia evades this law by operating international flights through a controversial 'shell corporation' structure, a practice that is not illegal but has been widely criticised across Australia's aviation industry.^[6]

The airline's headquarters are based in South Bank, Queensland. It was co-founded by British businessman Richard Branson (the founder of Virgin Group), and former CEO Brett Godfrey.

In 2011, the airline went through a period of transformation, changing its brand to Virgin Australia.^[7] This included the introduction of a new aircraft livery, new uniforms, and new onboard menu options, as well as a business class product, which Virgin Blue did not have. New wide-body aircraft were acquired to compete with Qantas, and business class was rolled out across the Virgin Australia network.^[3]

On 21 April 2020, Virgin Australia Holdings went into voluntary administration, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial troubles in the years leading up to the pandemic.^[8] On 26 June 2020, it was announced that Bain Capital had entered into a sale and implementation deed with administrator Deloitte to acquire Virgin Australia.^[9] Creditors agreed to this proposal on 4 September 2020, with the reorganisation and change of ownership completed on 17 November. The airline announced that as part of its relaunch, it would focus on being a mid-market "hybrid" carrier.^[10]

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