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Virgin Australia has revised its expected delivery date for its first Boeing 737 MAX 10 jets to mid-2028, just weeks after the US Federal Aviation Administration gave the jet the regulatory green light.
In an announcement to the ASX on Tuesday, Virgin revealed that it now intends to take delivery of its first MAX 10 aircraft in June 2028, “with further deliveries scheduled for FY29”. The airline had previously been eyeing delivery of its first MAX 10 in late 2027.
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Virgin will currently take on 10 total 737 MAX 10s, after restructuring the order several times since it was placed in 2018.
The revision comes shortly after the announcement of the FAA’s official certification of the jet, after more than five years of safety test flights.
“After extensive safety reviews – including thousands of hours of test flights – the team at the FAA is ready to approve this critical aircraft for sale,” said US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.
“This is a major win for American manufacturing and our nation’s status as a global aviation powerhouse. We invented flight, we pioneered air travel, and we are going to continue leading the way in aviation safety and innovation.”
Virgin Australia has been awaiting delivery of its MAX 10s since as early as 2021, and has dwindled its order down over the years, swapping many of its MAX 10s in favour of the smaller, but operational, MAX 8.
According to Virgin CEO Dave Emerson, the 737 MAX 10 will be the largest aircraft in the carrier’s fleet, and give Virgin “more capacity and more flexibility” across its network.
“This is an important next step in our fleet renewal program as we continue building a younger, quieter and more fuel-efficient fleet.
“Fleet renewal is the single biggest lever we have to reduce emissions in the near term, and the 737-10 will build on the benefits we are already seeing from the 737-8.”
It comes as the airline announced that its financial standing remains “broadly in line” with its profitable first-half FY2025–26 results, despite the ongoing fuel crisis.
Like its rival Qantas, Virgin said it intends to cut back on domestic capacity and increase airfares in order to stabilise operating costs and minimise damage to its balance sheet.
“Domestic demand remains resilient, with revenue performance supported by disciplined capacity management,” Virgin told its shareholders.
“Considering the high fuel and operating cost environment, Virgin Australia has adjusted capacity and airfares.”
So far, Virgin has reduced domestic capacity by 1 per cent since July this year and will cut another 4 per cent by December.
Despite these cuts, revenue per available seat kilometre is due to increase by between 6 and 8 per cent through to December 2026.
With this strategy, Virgin is expecting its earnings before interest and tax for the six months to December 2026 to be “broadly in line” with last year’s result, in which it posted a $279 million underlying profit.
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