13 May 2021: Virgin Australia Group has announced changes to its short-haul international network in response to shifting international border projections.
Forecasts released in this week's Federal budget outline new predictions for the aviation sector, including for international travel, where visitation is expected to remain low until at least mid-2022. As a result, Virgin Australia will defer most short-haul international flying, including to Fiji and Indonesia, until at least December 2021.
Continued efforts by State and Federal Government's to refine trans-Tasman travel arrangements will however allow the airline to operate Boeing 737 services between Sydney-Queenstown and Brisbane-Queenstown, as planned from 18 September 2021, and Melbourne-Queenstown services from 7 December 2021.
Because current demand for other New Zealand destinations remains subdued, Virgin Australia will defer them from sale alongside services to Vanuatu, Samoa and the Solomon Islands for the time being.
While the international travel outlook remains uncertain, domestic travel continues to go from strength to strength and the airline is continuing to review its domestic network to ensure it's responding to growth opportunities here in Australia.
Customers impacted by the changes will be contacted directly and provided with options to obtain a full refund to the original form of payment or a credit for future travel with Virgin Australia.
Commentary
Virgin AustraliaChief Strategy and Transformation Officer Alistair Hartleysaidthenew forecastfor international travel has requiredVirgin Australia to reassessitsnetwork as well as give customersplenty ofnotice of any changes to their travel plans.
"Whilewe know some Australiansare itching totravel overseas,it is clear that internationaltravelwon'treturn to normalas quickly as first anticipated," said Mr Hartley.
"We're being realistic about restarting short-haul international flying, and have todaydelayedservices to the Pacific, and to Bali,Indonesia until at least December.
"Although we've seen positive developmentswiththe trans-Tasman travel bubble andGovernments working exceptionally well to manage outbreaks,currentdemandfor travelto New Zealandremainssubdued, except for Queenstown, where customers are looking to travel over the September school holidays and the upcoming summer.All other New Zealand services willbe deferredforthe time being.
"Wearecontinuallyreviewing our networktorespond tothe latest advice, and importantly looking atwhether we canrestartshort-haul international flying, including toNew Zealand earlier,shouldtraveldemandimproveand circumstances change.
"Doing the right thing for our customers remains at the heartof our decision making,andwhilethe impact is relatively lowdue to ongoing border uncertainty,we are workingto provide affected customers with alternative options as quickly as possible."
Notes to Editor:
- Short-haul international services to Denpasar (Bali) and Nadi (Fiji) have been deferred from sale until at least 1 December 2021.
- Short-haul international services to Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch (New Zealand), Port Villa (Vanuatu), Apia (Samoa) and Honiara (Solomon Islands) have been deferred from sale for the time being.
