Virgin Australia are chopping and changing their orders with Boeing around, announcing they are to take ten Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft into their fleet.
Virgin Australia Boeing 737 MAX 10 with Sydney in the background. Image – The Boeing Company
The airline is converting ten orders for the 737 MAX 8 for the larger MAX 10 variant. This now splits the order by 30 737 MAX 8 aircraft, and 10 737 MAX 10s.
On the order, Virgin Australia Group Chief Financial Officer Geoff Smith stated
“We are pleased to be welcoming the 737 MAX 10 aircraft into our expanding fleet in 2022. The addition of the 737 MAX 10 will provide us with additional flexibility and capability to support our network and operations. We are proud to become Australia’s first operator of the 737 MAX and we look forward to the opportunities that operating this type of aircraft will open up to us.”
Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing, The Boeing Company added
“We are excited to expand our partnership with the Virgin Australia Group as they look to introduce the 737 MAX 10 in to their world-class fleet,”
“The MAX 10 will provide the airline with added capabilities, especially with the extended range and efficiency, to better support their fleet and network.”
Virgin Australia is currently an operator of the Boeing 737 NextGen family, with 80 737-800s currently in their fleet, and two Boeing 737-700s.
As for the use of the fleet – no use case have been given yet – however, one would think they could be assigned to business heavy routes as the planes will offer more capacity than existing frames.
The airline is due to recive its first 737 MAX 8 in 2019, whilst the 737 MAX 10 is slated for 2022.
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