As more of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft arrives, Virgin Australia will use it on additional domestic and short-haul international flights.
At the end of September, the airline received its second MAX 8, with a third due before the end of the year and the remaining five arriving in the first half of 2024. After a short stint within Australia, the aircraft on the Cairns-Haneda route.
Virgin plans once the new aircraft arrive, they will be used to fly to international destinations, including Fiji, Bali, and Samoa, in addition to domestic routes like those serving Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, and Cairns.
Virgin presently operates a significant fleet of 737-800s and a small fleet of 737-700s, Airbus A320-200s, and Fokker 100s, all of which fly to a smaller number of destinations.
After several delays, the first 737 MAX 8 in the Virgin fleet was finally delivered in late June and put into service on the airline’s route to Tokyo (Haneda), which had begun with 737-700s due to the MAX’s late arrival.
The addition of the 737 MAX family to Virgin’s fleet, as stated by Virgin Australia’s chief operating officer Stuart Aggs, will help the airline “grow capacity and support more efficient jet services.”
He added that we are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, and these planes will help us get there by cutting emissions by at least 15 per cent each trip compared to the 737-800 NG fleet.
“Fleet modernisation is essential to advancing our sustainability ambitions. It provides a considerable potential to lower our emissions intensity in the short term, but it is only one part of our multi-pronged strategy for decarbonisation,” Aggs added.
The company says, “We expect our fleet renewal programme, combined with other fuel efficiency initiatives, to support over 80% of our 2030 interim target to reduce Virgin Australia’s carbon emission intensity by 22 percent.”
The MAX 8 can fly longer than Virgin’s current 737-800 NG planes.
The 737-8 is equipped with our latest generation of seats, which have device holders and in-seat power, and is around 40% quieter than the existing 737-800 NG fleet, according to Aggs.
The airline has ordered 25 more MAX 10 planes and six MAX 8 planes.
