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Virgin Blue Boeing 737
Virgin Blue is an Australian domestic low-cost airline founded by the British businessman Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Records. Virgin Blue was launched on 3 August 2000, initially offering 7 return flights a day between Brisbane and Sydney.
The airline acquired the airport terminals and many of the customers of the failed Ansett.
Virgin focuses on providing cheap transport by eliminating costs such as included in-flight meals and printed tickets in favour of selling food at above-retail price on-board and using telephone and Internet transactions to sell their services rather than traditional over-the-counter ticket sales. They also have cut costs by limiting the number of airports they service and only operating one type of aircraft, the Boeing 737.
Virgin suffered a setback when it was not able to acquire a permanent terminal in Sydney Airport relying instead on a temporary terminal. However this issue has been resolved, making Virgin Blue the principal competitor to Qantas in Australian domestic aviation.
In September 2003, Virgin Blue announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pacific Blue , would offer a similar cheaper service between New Zealand and mainland AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count. Pacific Blue aims to position itself as a competitor to Air New ZealandAir New Zealand is a major regularly scheduled passenger airline based in New Zealand. It has a considerable international and domestic network, and uses NZ as its IATA designator. Beginnings as TEAL Originally named TEAL T asman E mpire A irways L imited and Qantas, both of which have been criticised for having fairly expensive fares.
Qantas has responded to Virgin Blue's lower cost base by creating a new low-cost carrier, JetstarFor the aircraft, see Lockheed JetStar. Jetstar Airways is an Australian domestic low-cost airline launched in 2004. Jetstar is a subsidiary of Qantas Airways, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue. Although owned by Qant.
Virgin Blue's name comes from the Australian EnglishAustralian English is the form of the English language used in Australia. Differences from other variants of English Australian English is similar in many respects to British English but it also borrows from American English. For example, it uses truck in practice of calling a red-haired person "bluey".
Includes Pacific Blue destinations.