Agent of change

John Borghetti took the helm of Virgin Australia five years ago this month. It has been a turbulent period for airlines at home and abroad, marked by fierce competition, volatile economic conditions, uncertainty over fuel prices and lots of red ink in the airline accounts. TOM BALLANTYNE takes a look at Virgin’s report card and the critical changes that have occurred since the former Qantas executive began to re-invent what was then Virgin Blue.

When John Borghetti walked into his new office and took charge of Virgin Blue back in May 2010 few people were aware of the monumental task he was about to undertake.

His mission was to do what no-one had done before: morph a no-frills carrier into a full blown full-service airline. What was handed to him was a hybrid operator that had been turned into a so-called New World Carrier by his predecessor Brett Godfrey. It was, in the eyes of many analysts, a quirky airline trying to be all things to all people. While it was far from being a basket case, it was schizophrenic, operating a jumble of brands in various markets because Singapore Airlines, which owned 49 per cent of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, wouldn’t allow the Virgin banner to be used outside Australia. The result was Virgin Blue domestically, Pacific Blue in New Zealand, Polynesian Blue in the South Pacific and V Australia flying long-haul international.