The newly-installed CEO of Virgin Australia Australia has said flying again would be “inevitable” as the airline aims to regain market share under the new ownership.
JN Hurdlika told CNBC on Wednesday that the company was preparing to take a third of the domestic market as domestic travel resumed, re-establishing it at pre-covid levels.
“We have three weeks under new ownership, we have a strong balance sheet of any airline in the country right now, and we reach January … We intend to capture about a third of the domestic market,” Hurdlika said in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Will Culuris.
Hrdlikka, a subsidiary of Qantas, is the former boss of budget carrier Jestar. As part of a strategy by new owners Ben Capital to save the flying airline after she went into voluntary administration in April, she was named as Paul Scrurah’s successor in October.
As much as Virgin Australia Australia is our job to train as hard as we can, to fly as much as possible, to get as many of our people back to work as possible.
Jayen Hurdlika
CEO of Virgin Australia Australia
Her installation coincides with the start of the summer season in Australia, which has largely reopened its local borders in the wake of the declining coronavirus.
“It’s full of flying again,” Hurdlika said.
“We’re in a great place now as a country. We can get out, spend time with others, and travel,” she added.
The Virgin Australia Australia Boeing 737 will land at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia on August 05, 2020.
James D. Morgan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
“Our job as Virgin Australia Australia is to train as hard as we can, to fly as much as possible, to bring as many of our people back to work as possible, and to enable Australia to really enjoy Australia in December and January.”
Virgin Australia is set to regain customers after its break in the first half of the year. Earlier this week, carrier passengers launched a new frequent flyer program for passengers traveling before March 28, 2021, to move beyond the same promotion of Cantes.
Hardlikka said the competition “should be.” However, he added that it was “too early” to call for international travel, responding to remarks by Qantas CEO Lan Lan Joyce, who said last month that he would have to vaccinate international travelers.
“We will listen and learn, work together with the government, and we will call on it once it is clear what the right answer is.”
– Correction: This story has been updated to correct Jayen Hurdlika’s spelling.
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