Virgin Australia relaunches Skywest
Virgin Australia has officially launched a new regional carrier, created following its recent purchase of Perth-based Skywest Airlines.
In a ceremony at Perth airport this week, Virgin’s founder Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Australia’s CEO John Borghetti celebrated the birth of the newly-branded airline, unveiling the first two aircraft to be rebranded as ‘Virgin Australia’. The new entity will officially be known as Virgin Australia Regional Airlines, and will operate more than 800 services per week to 41 regional destinations using a fleet of 32 aircraft. A key focus will be on providing ‘fly-in, fly-out’ services for Western Australia’s resources sector.
“In 2010, we articulated a strategy to become the airline of choice for all travellers in Australia. Since then, we have changed the competitive landscape in many ways and today marks our next major leap forward,” said Borghetti. “By integrating Skywest Airlines into the Virgin Australia Group, we unlock new opportunities to grow our services to regional Australia and significantly increase our charter presence in the high growth fly-in-fly-out markets.
“Western Australia is one of the fastest growing aviation markets and a very important part of our strategy. We have made significant investment over the past two years with the introduction of our internationally configured Airbus A330 aircraft on services between the east and west coast, increased frequencies to the resource-rich Pilbara region and established a large crew base in Perth.
“By building a Perth-based operation and workforce, we will continue to invest in local resources, expertise and infrastructure,” Borghetti added.
Virgin Australia completed the 100% acquisition of Skywest Airlines Ltd in April 2013, following an initial agreement signed on 30 October 2012. The move formed part of a series of equity deals for the airline, which also recently completed a deal to take a 60% of Tiger Airways Australia, and sold a 9.9% stake to Singapore Airlines.
“It is fantastic what John and the team have done over the last couple of years, completely repositioning the airline with the introduction of the Virgin Australia brand and its brilliant product and service. Now I am thrilled to see him focusing on other market segments including regional and charter services where I know they will deliver,” said Sir Richard Branson.
“This is the start of the next ground-breaking chapter for the Virgin Australia Group and an exciting time for the airline.”