Virgin Australia Sold to Bain Capital – AIR044

Matt Graham

 

On 4 September 2020, Virgin Australia creditors voted to approve the airline’s sale to U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital for $3.5 billion. This was the final major hurdle in bringing Virgin Australia out of voluntary administration and avoiding liquidation. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of October. So, how did Virgin Australia get to this point and where is it going from here?

After launching as a low-cost carrier in 2000 (Virgin celebrated its 20th anniversary this week with no fanfare), then relaunching as a full-service airline in 2011, it’s now planning to reinvent itself a second time as a “value” carrier. Is this a Goldilocks moment or does Virgin 3.0 risk getting squeezed out of the market?

 

Episode contents:

  • 0:55 – Fortnightly news round-up
  • 12:04 – Virgin Australia’s sale to Bain Capital is approved. How did we get here, and what’s next for the airline?
  • 27:35 – Customers have long memories. Why aren’t more businesses doing the right thing?

 

Links:

 

Frequent Flyer Gazette articles referenced in the fortnightly news round-up:

Matt Graham
The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
Matt Graham
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