Aircraft delivery delays have added to Virgin Australia’s challenges, with outgoing CEO Jayne Hrdlicka describing the second half of the financial year as “super tough.”
But Hrdlicka played down speculation Qatar Airways was seeking a stake of up to 20 percent in the airline, saying “some creative fiction” had been written.
She said Virgin was picking up aircraft from Rex after the regional carrier entered voluntary administration on July 30, with supply chain and quality control issues slowing down the arrival rate of the new Boeing 737 Max 8.
Hrdlicka told the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Brisbane on Sep. 13 Virgin would be converting 12 orders of Boeing Max 10s to Max 8s to help fleet expansion.
“(It will) help give us more degrees of flexibility as we adjust with Boeing’s needs to manage the challenges that both Boeing and Airbus are facing with respect to getting their supply chains back to balance,” she said.
Hrdlicka also addressed reports Qatar Airways was seeking a Virgin Australia stake, saying there had been “a lot of creative fiction written” about a potential deal.
“We don’t play with rumour and innuendo but what I will say is we have the world’s best (airline) partners—United Airlines, Air Canada, Singapore Airlines, Qatar, ANA, Hawaiian—and we’re working every day to deepen those relationships and strengthen the experience we provide to our customers,” she said.
Hrdlicka said for Virgin to compete in the domestic market it must also do so internationally through overseas partners by creating an experience that rivalled competitors.
“Our international partners are more important to us than any of our competitors because we don’t have a long-haul international business ourselves,” she said.
Hrdlicka took over as CEO in November 2020 after U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital rescued Virgin Australia from administration, chartering it through the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of that challenge was revamping location, fleet and operational complexities that had hindered the airline and “magnified costs.”
“We were trying to be something that we could never successfully be, which is the world’s most premium airline based in Australia,” she said.
“We’ve learned a lot.
“We will not repeat the same mistakes in the past.
“The second half of the financial year was super tough and losing Bonza and Rex was a demonstration of how tough the market actually is.
“So we’re really proud we’re delivering great results and performing well financially despite the fact it is a tough environment.”
Hrdlicka announced her resignation in February but did not provide an exit date.
Her CEO stint included the “most confronting personal experiences you could ever have.”
“I lost my husband to cancer, and I recently lost my father,” Hrdlicka said.
“I really need to spend more time with my boys—they’re 17 and 19—and I have a huge passion for tennis.”
Hrdlicka has been Tennis Australia’s Chair and board president since 2017.
