Qantas and Virgin were involved in a remarkable court battle over Rohrlach’s services last year, after he accepted a senior role at Qantas Frequent Flyer, before ultimately taking the top job at Velocity.

The United Firefighters Union aviation secretary Wes Garrett said the “in principle” agreement would also include boosting the number of airport firefighters.

The dramatic ceremony at Palmdale, California, represented the first time the bomber had been seen outside artists’ impressions and the first unveiling of a new US bomber in more than 30 years. 

The airline said it would both increase the number of flights on key routes and swap in larger aircraft in order to boost capacity. However, it insisted it will maintain an “operational buffer” to safeguard reliability.