Virgin Australia isn’t in a hurry to get back into long-haul flights

Virgin Australia is reluctant to resume long-haul services even as demand for international travel soars, Chief Executive Officer Jayne Hrdlicka said, as the airline seeks to rein in costs and prepares for an initial public offering as soon as next year.

“Anything that we did from a long-haul standpoint would have a very high hurdle on it,” Hrdlicka said in an interview at a CAPA Centre for Aviation conference in Adelaide. The airline said in a filing Wednesday that it may consider a return to long haul at some point.

“There is a lot of demand right now for long-haul flying and not enough capacity, but you have to plan for the long term. You don’t invest significant amounts of capital in aircraft to solve for a moment in time,” the CEO said.

Hrdlicka anticipates that Virgin Australia will return to profit in the year ending June 2023, laying the ground for a share sale -- possibly next year -- and at least a partial exit by the airline’s owner, US buyout firm Bain Capital. 

After collapsing under a mountain of debt at the start of the pandemic, Virgin Australia is now focused on keeping hold of one-third of the domestic passenger market and short-haul flights to destinations such as New Zealand.

“We’re very focused on running the business and making sure that we’re in great form for eventual listing,” Hrdlicka said.