What is Virgin Australia?
Virgin Australia is Australia's second-largest airline group. It began in 2000 as the low-cost carrier Virgin Blue, founded by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, and later became a full-service airline.
Virgin Blue launched with flights between Brisbane and Sydney in August 2000. It grew quickly after the collapse of Ansett Australia in 2001, which left Qantas as its main competitor.
In 2011 the airline rebranded as Virgin Australia and moved to compete for business travelers by adding lounges, business class seating and a frequent flyer program called Velocity.
Administration and recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline hard. In April 2020, Virgin Australia entered voluntary administration, one of the largest corporate collapses in Australian history.
Later in 2020, it was bought by the US private equity firm Bain Capital. The airline was relaunched with a simpler fleet focused on Boeing 737 aircraft and a mid-market strategy.
In 2025, Virgin Australia returned to the Australian Securities Exchange through a public listing, after Qatar Airways had acquired a minority stake. The airline remains Qantas's main competitor in domestic aviation.
Did You Know?
Virgin Australia's headquarters are in Brisbane.