SYDNEY, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Virgin Australia, anticipating continued rising demand for air travel following the slump caused by COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures, will double its fleet of Boeing 737 MAX 8 next year and ramp up its pilot training facilities in Australia.
Announcing the expansion program on Wednesday, Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the four new MAX 8s indicated the airline's commitment to "grow its fleet for long-term success".
"Despite the challenges faced by our industry, demand for travel remains strong and we're responding with a focus on the long-term by increasing the efficiency and sustainability of our fleet," she said.
Hrdlicka said the new planes, which produce 15 percent less carbon emissions than rival aircraft, "underscores our confidence in our underlying performance and commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050."
The new MAX 8s will mean that Virgin, the second largest airline operating in Australia after Qantas, will have a fleet of 92 Boeing 737.
The airline has also announced, with a long-term partnership with global aviation training provider CAE, priority access to a full-flight simulator near the Western Australian capital of Perth, which will increase Virgin's domestic training capacity by 25 percent to train more than 200 pilots.
"Demand for 737NG simulator training is at extraordinary levels globally and securing this capacity at home is an enormous benefit to both Virgin Australia, and our pilots undergoing training," Hrdlicka said.
"Not only will we have increased pilot training capacity shortly, I am delighted that this week we have reached another major milestone with our team growing to over 7,000 team members," she said.
"Attracting around 2,000 people to our airline in just under two years is testament to the priority we place on our team members."
Virgin Australia, like other airlines worldwide, was hit hard by the pandemic and after unsuccessfully seeking a 1.4 billion Australian dollar (about 970 million U.S. dollar) loan from the Australian government in April 2020, the company was purchased by the U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital. ■
