to the travelling public, the economy and
communities across Australia.” He added:
“I had the privilege very early in the role to
spend some time with Sir Richard Branson
and executives from across the Virgin group
in the UK. When you operate as part of the
Virgin family, you have licence to do things a
little differently, because it’s who we are – it’s
in our DNA.”RAPID GROWTH
Virgin Blue was quickly successful in the
Australian market, but it had to ght hard to
compete against its larger rivals. Initially, the
airline’s services were restricted to the east
coast, while at both Sydney and Melbourne
it utilised makeshift temporary low-cost
terminals, due to the existing carriers holding
exclusive rights over the established full-
service facilities.
Yet, despite these difficulties, Virgin Blue
was enthusiastically supported by a new
group of air travellers who had, until then,
found the cost of ying out of reach. The
airline’s motto was ‘keeping the air fair’ and it
was true to its promise.
Rob Sharp recalled: “Virgin Blue was the rst low-cost carrier in Australia and really
pioneered that market, opening up travel
possibilities to millions of Australians. Virgin
Blue’s entry to the domestic market brought
down airfares and Australians now enjoy some
of the lowest domestic airfares in the world.”In 2001, Virgin’s fortunes changed for the
better, as Ansett’s worsened. Throughout
that year, Ansett was plagued with high-
pro le incidents, including the grounding ofits 767 eet (due to safety concerns) and a
worsening nancial position.
When the once-dominant airline
unexpectedly collapsed in September 2001,
an opportunity was created to allow a quick
expansion of Virgin Blue. Although Ansett
was rebooted as a low-cost carrier, it only
ew until March 2002 – the public had
lost faith in the brand and buyers for the
company remained elusive.
With Ansett no longer operational, Virgin
Blue moved quickly to secure space in its
former terminals. This saw Virgin gradually
gain better airport facilities across its network,
allowing a better passenger experience.
Realising its position as Australia’s
second largest airline, Virgin planned to
recreate the concept of affordable aviation
for all. The solution was a hybrid model;
taking the best of low-cost ying and
blending it with modern amenities which
even included airport lounges.
Known as ‘The Blue Room’, the lounges
opened across Australia in spaces once
occupied by Ansett’s Golden Wing facilities.
Virgin’s route network also expanded to link
all major cities by August 31, 2002.78 Aviation News incorporating Jets May 2018“The acquisition not
only gave Virgin a
signifi cant footing in
the regional market,
but also introduced
Fokker 50s, Fokker
100s and A320s to
i t s fl e e t. ”
Tigerair Australia’s eet carries
distinctive markings, which are shown
off well on Airbus A320-232 VH-VNC.
All photos Chris Frame unless statedA busy scene in Sydney in 2016 with two
ATR 72-600s nearest the camera.77-82_virginDC.mfDC.mf.indd 78 09/04/2018 15:03