Virgin Australia: grounds international Fleet – reduces domestic capacity

Virgin Australia is grounding its international fleet according to an announcement it made in a statement to the ASX today (18 March 2020).

The airline will suspend all international services from March 30 to June 14.

Domestic capacity will also be slashed by 50 per cent until June 14.

Summary of changes:

• Suspending all international fights from 30 March to 14 June 2020
• Domestic capacity reduced by 50 % until 14 June 2020
• 53 aircraft grounded
• Web facility for customers affected by changes

That means international flying will be suspended for 2 and a half months. Melbourne-Los Angeles flights suspended from 20 March. Brisbane to Haneda flights postponed from starting on 29 March and the new Melbourne to Denpasar flights will not go ahead as was planned from 29 March.

What customers should do

Customers who are affected by these changes have the option of cancelling or rescheduling or changing their destination, without having to pay a change fee.

Virgin Australia will be contacting all affected with those booked on flights from 30 March to 14 June being the priority. These customers should expect to be contacted via email in the next 14 days.

If you have booked a Virgin Australia flight through a travel agent, then the agent should be in contact, or you should contact them.

Only customers who are travelling in the next 24 hours or need immediate assistance should pro-actively contact Virgin Australia for assistance. Remember their phone and web support will be under siege due to these changes.

2PAXfly Takeout

No surprises here, but this must be financially devastating for Virgin Australia.