Speaking to this masthead from the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) annual general meeting in Dubai,Hrdlicka said Virgin had resolved its reliability issues.
Virgin’s outgoing boss Jayne Hrdlicka.Bloomberg
“We had challenges in the second quarter of this financial year driven by adding a lot of short-haul international growth,” she said. “We’ve addressed those issues.”
Virgin beat Qantas in the number of on-time departures and arrivals for the first time in 19 months in April. It also had a lower rate of flight cancellations.
Virgin has operated a single-fleet type since it was saved from administration by Bain Capital in November 2020,leaving it more exposed than its major competitors to the production issues plaguing Boeing. Virgin confirmed to this masthead in March that 31 of its Boeing 737 Max-8 and Max-10 aircraft as a result of Boeing’s regulatory woes.
However,Hrdlicka said she did not regret picking the Boeing models despite the delivery delays and stressed that Airbus is also experiencing difficulties fulfilling orders. Virgin’s Boeing-only fleet was a big part of Bain’s initial public offering pitch to investors in 2022.
“I think we made a good choice... The benefits in our business from having a single fleet type are significant[in] being quite simple and strict about it. Both Boeing and Airbus are having challenges... Our industry was never meant to stop,it’s a complex supply chain and getting it back in balance takes some time,” she said.
The plan to float the airline has so far failed to get off the ground. Bain and Virgin insiders have long stressed the IPO has been iced because of broader market conditions rather than Virgin’s readiness.
“There is an unprecedented level of inflation that sits around us. To manage that is a tough task for any industry and I think we’re doing better than most... When the markets are closed from a financial standpoint it doesn’t make much sense to be out there telling your story until there’s an end point to it,” Hrdlicka said when asked why Bain had stopped actively meeting with potential investors.
She added that it was unlikely that Bain would entertain a similar ownership structure to Virgin’s past iteration,which relied on multiple foreign airlines taking stakes in the airline. Virgin’s codeshare partner Qatar Airways has been rumoured to be seeking a stake in the revamped airline.
Virgin has operated a single-fleet type since it was saved from administration by Bain Capital in November 2020,leaving it more exposed than its major competitors to the production issues plaguing Boeing.Supplied
Qatar Airways boss Badr Mohammed Al Meer said on Monday that he was in regular talks with Virgin but any moves on the airline’s register would need to be carefully considered.
“That’s a matter for our shareholders but part of the challenge of Virgin Australia in the past was a lot of complexity on the register. We have learned from every element of our past to ensure we don’t make the same mistake twice,” she said.
Hrdlicka,who also chairs Tennis Australia,announced earlier this year as its private equity owner finds a replacement,but would not be drawn into when that may be or what she may do next.
“There is no more difficult job than being an airline chief executive,especially post-pandemic. It is 24/7. We’re all working really hard to ensure that Virgin has decades of legacy in front of it,and we need to find exactly the right person and set them up to be successful,” she said.
This reporter travelled to Dubai as a guest of IATA.
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