Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 MAX order has gone through a number of changes since the time it was first placed. At one point, the airline even restructured the order in such a way that it would only receive 737-10s. That decision has since been reversed with the airline planning to operate both 737-8s and 737-10s.
In fact, on November 24, 2023, Virgin Australia announced it added six additional 737-8s to its existing order.
Virgin Australia to Receive a Total of 39 737 MAX Aircraft
With the latest update to its order, once all aircraft currently on order are delivered, Virgin Australia will operate 39 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft including 14 737-8s and 25 737-10s.
So far, the airline has taken delivery of three 737-8s. The first of those, VH-8IA, was delivered in June 2023; the second, VH-8IC, was delivered in September 2023; the third, VH-8IB, was delivered in November 2023. Virgin Australia plans to receive the remaining 11 737-8s by the end of 2024. Due to the ongoing certification delays, the first 737-10 is not expected to enter the airline’s fleet earlier than in 2025.
Currently, Virgin Australia’s 737-8s operate on domestic flights from Brisbane to Cairns, Perth, and Sydney. They also operate the airline’s first and so far only route to Japan – Cairns to Tokyo. Interestingly, the seven-plus-hour flights were launched using 737-700s before switching to the 737-8.
The aircraft are equipped with a total of 176 seats including 8 recliner business class seats in a 2-2 layout and 168 economy class seats in a 3-3 layout.
Becoming an (Almost) All-Boeing 737 Operator
In 2020, Virgin Australia went through significant restructuring. As part of that, it retired its turboprop fleet of ATR aircraft, as well as its widebody fleet that consisted of Airbus A330-200s and Boeing 777-300ERs at the time. With that, the airline also terminated its long-haul flights.
Going forward, Virgin Australia plans to operate an all-Boeing 737 fleet on its scheduled flights. For the time being, it also has a sub-fleet of Airbus A320s (ex-Tigerair Australia aircraft) and Fokker 100s for charter operations.
As for the Boeing 737s, in addition to the three 737-8s it has in operation and the 36 additional 737 MAX aircraft it has on order, Virgin Australia also operates a large fleet of Next Generation variants. In addition to nine 737-700s, the airline has 75 737-800s.
With the 737NG aircraft in its fleet being relatively young and Virgin Australia planning to keep them in operation for years to come, the airline started refurbishing their interiors. The first aircraft is scheduled to be done with the process by early December 2023, and the rest of the project is expected to be completed within two years.
The refurbishment consists of:
- In-seat power installation in both business and economy class
- New business and economy class seats installation for consistency with 737-8s
- Onboard wi-fi and in-flight entertainment streaming system installation
Summary
Virgin Australia has gone through major changes in the last few years, most notably retiring its widebody aircraft and, in turn, cutting its long-haul routes. It has also ordered 737 MAX aircraft and modified that order multiple times.
Most recently, last week, the airline announced an order for six additional 737-8s. With that, Virgin Australia is set to operate a 39-strong fleet of 737 MAX aircraft once all of the outstanding orders are delivered. At this point, it has three 737-8s in its fleet in addition to over 80 737NG aircraft.
To match the passenger experience on its 737-700s and 737-800s with that on the 737 MAX aircraft, the airline started a project to refurbish them. The project is expected to last two years.
