Tigerair Is Toast As Virgin Australia Axes The Cheapo Airline & Announces 3,000 Job Losses

Virgin Australia is expected to make 3,000 staff redundant and axe the Tigerair Australia brand under its new ownership, marking a huge hit to the domestic airline industry.

The airline, which entered voluntary administration back in April, is now slated to reduce its workforce to 6,000 as it recovers from the chaos caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Virgin Australia Group CEO Paul Scurrah said “demand for domestic and short-haul international travel is likely to take at least three years to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, with the real chance it could be longer,” leading the company to make some truly drastic job cuts.

Scurrah said impacted employees will have early access to retiree and long-service benefits, while The Australian reports they will each be granted a photo signed by Scurrah and Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson as a “parting gift”.

How nice.

The airline is set to pare back its mainline fleet to Boeing 737s only, while its charter and regional fleets will remain in operation.

As for Tigerair, it may not be the last we see of the budget airline. Virgin Australia says it will retain the license required to “operate an ultra-low-cost carrier in the future when the domestic market can support it.”

Virgin Australia’s administrators have entered a binding agreement with US private equity juggernaut Bain Capital to buy the struggling airline, after it posted debts totalling $6.8 billion.

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