an extensive review, the
aged Fokker 50s, acquired
when Skywest was
absorbed, were retired in
2016, while more changes
were announced later that
year. “We are in the midst
of a eet simpli cation
programme,” Rob Sharp
re ected. “As part of the
programme, the Embraer
190 eet was retired [the
E170s having left the
carrier in 2012], with its
last ight occurring on
February 3, 2017. Virgin
Australia Regional Airlines
will continue to operate the
F100 eet in the charter
market, and the ATRs will
continue in regional New
South Wales. We are
retiring six of the ATR 72-
500s and two of the ATR
72-600s, leaving us with six
ATR 72-600s.”
Another key focus for
the airline in recent years
has been the development
of its services in terminals,
leading to a continuous
improvement programme
across its hubs. Perth is
home to one of Virgin’s
agship terminals, which
opened in 2015. Built in synergy with
Perth International Airport, the new ‘T1
Domestic’ was a green eld (no existing
building or infrastructure) project, which
answered many of Virgin’s operational
concerns in the Western Australian capital.
Sharp said: “Prior to the new dedicatedVirgin Australia terminal in
Perth being constructed,
our operations were split
over three terminals for
international, domestic and
regional operations. This
created a clunky customer
experience for anyone
needing to transfer onto
connecting ights. Now,
all Virgin Australia regular
public transport services
depart and arrive from T1,
while the linked T2 regional
terminal is dedicated to
charter ights.
“The beauty of Perth
was we had a blank
canvass to create an
experience that rivalled
every domestic terminal in
Australia and designs were
focused on providing an
architecturally-designed,
y-through check-in format.”
To that end, Virgin
Australia invested
heavily in technology
across the Perth design
to ensure a smooth
customer experience,
leading it to become
the launch customer of
a new hybrid check-in
technology created by
global air transport IT provider, SITA. “This
technology allows the check-in experience
to be tailored to each guest, and means
we can easily change operations to meet
customer demand,” Sharp elaborated.
“It’s about giving our customers
the freedom to choose their airporthttp://www.aviation-news.co.uk 81Top: Two members of the Virgin Australia
cabin crew, in the company’s colourful
uniform. Virgin Australia
Above: The A330-200’s main economy
class cabin which has a 2-4-2 con guration.
Below: The airline retired the E190 in February
last year.77-82_virginDC.mfDC.mf.indd 81 09/04/2018 15:04