Virgin Australia plans to add two mainland China routes

28 July, 2017

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said the carrier aims to add two routes to mainland China, noting that the carrier has a five year plan of expansion to take advantage of carriers owned by or affiliated to HNA, which has around a 19% stake in Virgin Australia(Bloomberg, 28-Jul-2017). HNA includes Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Lucky Air. Mr Borghetti commented: "Connectivity in China is important... If you can tap into two hubs where their airlines feed, that gives you a big advantage". The carrier is also considering the addition of one more destination in Asia within the next five years, while there are no plans to operate to Europe or the Middle East, or extend Virgin Australia's network beyond Los Angeles in the US.