Issue 275: The Blue Decade

Ten years of Virgin Blue

August 31 is a major milestone for Virgin Blue, with the airline celebrating its 10th anniversary – a feat that at some stages appeared unlikely.

For an airline which famously started off as a concept nutted out on beer coasters in a London pub during the 1993 Ashes Test series by Virgin Atlantic junior finance manager Brett Godfrey and good mate Rob Sherrard, the Virgin Blue group has now grown into one of the leading carriers in the Australia-Pacific region, operating across a number of markets and reshaping the industry as it has been reshaping itself.