Virgin Australia after the rebuild: the 737 domestic and short haul international, the pay under the agreement and how it sits next to Qantas and Jetstar
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#1 Virgin Australia, Sydney, and I have replied in every Australian thread as the Virgin voice without writing Virgin. Here it is after the rebuild, because the Australian applicant's picture on this forum is Qantas and Jetstar and the third option gets a line.
The airline now
Virgin Australia after the 2020 administration and the private equity ownership: a 737 fleet (800s and MAX 8s), the domestic trunk and the leisure routes, a short haul international (Bali, Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa, New Zealand, and the Tokyo and Doha flights through the partnerships), and a positioning between Qantas (the full service legacy) and Jetstar (the low cost). A mid market carrier with a lounge and a service that is warmer than Jetstar and less formal than Qantas.
The crew
Smaller than Qantas's, a crew that lived through the administration and the rebuild (the crisis thread applies: the crew who stayed through 2020 carry it), a younger intake since, and a culture that is Virgin: cheeky, warm, the brand. The Virgin Australia crew are proud of the rebuild in the way the Cathay crew are.
The pay under the agreement
The Virgin Australia cabin crew enterprise agreement, negotiated with the FAAA, public through the Fair Work system, with the Australian award underneath. Pay below Qantas mainline and above Jetstar for comparable years, with the allowances on the international and the domestic per diems. Sydney rent is the problem, as everywhere in Australia.
The flying
Two to four sector days on the domestic trunk (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Cairns), the leisure routes, the short haul international with the Bali and Fiji layovers (the same resort life Sunny described from Jetstar, with the Virgin service), and the Tokyo flying for the senior crew. Home most nights on the domestic. The Bali layover is the Virgin crew's reward as it is Jetstar's.
How it sits next to Qantas and Jetstar
Qantas: the legacy name, the international long haul, the slower promotion, the highest pay, the age range. Jetstar: the low cost pace, the Qantas group door, the 787 medium haul, the lowest pay. Virgin: the middle on pay, the fastest promotion of the three after the rebuild (the seniority list is young), the domestic and short haul international, the Virgin culture. The Australian applicants apply to all three and Virgin is the one the mid market crew choose.
The honest view
Virgin Australia is a good airline again with a young list and a proud crew and a short haul international that is leisure. It is not the long haul career; that is Qantas. It is not the group door; that is Jetstar. It is the domestic and Bali airline with the warmest cabins in the country and the fastest path to senior. For an Australian who wants to fly from home and be a senior at four years, it is the one.
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#2 Qantas international, and Steve's placement of Virgin (the middle on pay, the fastest promotion, the Bali) is fair and the Qantas crew would agree. The three Australian airlines are three careers and the applicants should know which they want.
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#3 Jetstar Sydney, and the Virgin and Jetstar crews share the Bali hotel and the resort claustrophobia. Virgin's service is warmer than ours and their pay is higher. Steve has the three airlines exactly from the middle one.
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#4 Qantas domestic Brisbane, and the Virgin crew who lived through the 2020 administration are the ones I respect most at the Brisbane airport. The rebuild was theirs. The young list is the reward.
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#5 Qantas Brisbane, and the fastest promotion of the three being Virgin after the rebuild is the thing the Qantas juniors talk about. Senior at four years versus our seven. The trade is the international. Both real.
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#6 Air NZ, and the Virgin Australia trans Tasman crews are the warm ones on the Auckland apron. The Virgin culture travels. Steve's description of the cabins is what we see from the other side.
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#7 Air NZ training, and the Australian three airline picture next to the New Zealand one airline picture is useful: Australia has three careers, we have one and the regionals. The Australians on my course chose Air NZ for the long haul from a smaller list.