The airline had originally ordered 23 MAX 8s, but after a 2020 reorganisation, the purchase was cancelled later that year. Virgin Australia has reversed its decision and is bringing back the MAX 8, with the first of four new planes scheduled to arrive in February 2023.
The four MAX 8 planes do not match the original order for 23 planes, but Virgin Australia contacted Boeing after deciding to retire its Fokker 100 planes and replace them with existing Boeing 737-700 planes. As flying in Australia returns to pre-pandemic levels, this has left a gap in the airline's operational capacity. The MAX 8 has resurfaced on Virgin Australia's radar, with one eye squarely on net-zero ambitions.
The durable Fokker 100s conduct a brisk business serving the fly-in-fly-out resources and mining sector in Western Australia. At Perth Airport, fokkers full of miners in high-vis gear and flying for several airlines are a common sight. Virgin Australia has decided to follow the lead of the majority of the other airlines in establishing a Fokker succession plan.
