Virgin Australia is adding seven more Boeing 737 aircraft to its fleet as the airline continues to re-build its network following the restructure of the carrier last year.

The extra Boeing 737s will take fleet to 84 jets, up from 58 aircraft when the airline was re-launched under new owners Bain Capital.

Virgin has also added two Airbus A320s to VARA, the group’s West Australian resource operation, bringing the number of A320s in that fleet number to seven, along with a number of F100 aircraft.

The extra aircraft come on the back of state border openings across Australia, alongside Fiji where the carrier also is set to resume flights, and will also mean all Virgin Australia team members are fully stood up by December 1.

Virgin Australia is adding seven Boeing 737s to its fleet

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the extra aircraft will help the carrier deliver on commitments that were made when carrier was re-launched, including a focus on retaining 33 per cent domestic market share and by delivering great value to corporate travellers, small to medium businesses, and leisure travellers of all types.

“It wouldn’t have been possible to be in the position we are today, standing here, more competitive than ever, marking one year since our re-launch, if not for our amazing people,” she said.

“This fleet growth underlines the confidence we have in the future of our business and the industry generally. Vaccination rates are rising, borders are opening, and demand is returning.

Virgin Australia CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, says the carrier’s staff have been a major key to the carrier’s success since re-launching

“We are really positive about travel restarting as borders open more fully. We have used our time well while the industry was quiet and are well advanced on all aspects of our transformation strategy and we fully intend to continue growing with demand to ensure we operate at roughly 33 per cent of the domestic market.

“This enables us to continue to deliver the right mix of destinations with high frequency to support both our business and leisure purpose guests. It also means continued jobs growth at Virgin Australia and our team are delighted to be welcoming new family members to the organisation.

“The strength of Virgin Australia lies in our people, who have been the most extraordinary inspiration through the toughest of times with border closures and standdowns. They have stayed positive, been incredibly flexible, demonstrated such loyalty and commitment, and worked hard every day to make a difference for our guests and our airline.

Virgin Australia has retained many offerings, including ‘Economy X’

“The passion for our airline runs deep through all of our team members and has helped us all get through the long periods of very little flying.”

The carrier has revealed that during October, Virgin Australia had the biggest conversion rate of flight searches to sales in a 24-hour period since 2018.

Virgin Australia added 10 aircraft to its fleet in April and a further nine aircraft in August, with all to be operational over the peak summer season, according to the carrier.

The airline has announced 12 new domestic routes since September and will shortly resume short haul international services, with a schedule of services to Fiji, Bali and New Zealand, commencing with flights to Fiji on December 16, 2021.