Virgin Australia announces $99.9million loss as it slashes Tigerair routes to popular holiday destinations
- Tigerair will drop several services, including flights to and from Coffs Harbour
- Popular routes including Sydney to Cairns and Adelaide to Sydney will also go
- The struggling airline will have its fleet slashed from 13 planes to just eight
- Staff are expected to lose their jobs as Virgin Australia reduces capacity by 3%
Tigerair will drop several popular destinations and flights after Virgin Australia announced a $99m loss.
Key flights relied upon by thousands of Australians will disappear completely, including all Tigerair services to and from Coffs Harbour.
The Adelaide to Sydney route will also disappear, as will Sydney to Cairns and Hobart to the Gold Coast.
Changes will come on April 27, as the budget airline prepares to have its fleet slashed from 13 planes to just eight.
Virgin Australia (pictured) has reported a $99 million loss in the first half the year and is ‘proposing to close Tigerair’s Brisbane and Sydney bases’
It comes after Virgin Australia announced it would stop all flights from Australia to Hong Kong in early March, one of aviation’s most competitive routes.
The airline admitted it was preparing to take a $75 million hit from the coronavirus crisis, with some travellers too scared to fly.
Its CEO Paul Scurrah told staff on Wednesday morning the company would be reducing its network capacity by 3 per cent.
He also revealed it was ‘proposing to close Tigerair’s Brisbane and Sydney bases’.
‘Unfortunately a number of our team members will be impacted as a result and we have commenced formal consultation with pilot and cabin crew representatives,’ he said.
Just a few weeks ago, Virgin Australia insisted it had ‘no intention of shutting its budget carrier’ after questions were raised about Tigerair’s future.
‘Virgin Australia has no intention of shutting its budget carrier, Tigerair, and any suggestion is completely inaccurate and uninformed,’ the airline said in a statement.
‘Tigerair will continue to play a very important role as the budget carrier for the Virgin Australia Group now and into the future.’
Key flights relied upon by thousands of Australians will disappear completely, including all Tigerair services to and from Coffs Harbour (stock image)
Mark Landau, managing director of investment firm L1 Capital, had claimed the airline would need to ‘cut capacity or shutdown altogether’, after losing millions.
Virgin Australia has already made 750 staff redundant as it attempts to claw back its profits.
Under new CEO Mr Scurrah, it is trying to manage a $349 million full year loss and a tumbling share price.
The Virgin Australia Group bought out budget airline Tiger Airways in 2014, having already bought a 60 per cent stake in the company for $35 million in 2013.
More to follow.