After decades of domestic flying on Boeing 737-800s, Australians are in for a treat in 2024, with both Virgin Australia and low-cost airline Bonza adding more 737 MAX 8s to their fleets. The biggest changes are coming from Virgin Australia as the airline plans to add around one new MAX 8 every month (on average) this year.

One year ago, Australians were first able to fly the Boeing 737 MAX 8 when Bonza launched its initial services between the Sunshine Coast Airport (MCY) and the Whitsunday Coast Airport (PPP) in Queensland. In its first year, Bonza carried more than 650,000 passengers and developed a network of 38 routes to 21 destinations from its bases at the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, and Melbourne Tullamarine Airports.

The 737 MAX experience is rapidly opening up at Virgin Australia (VA), which introduced its first MAX 8 in July last year and is now operating three on a mix of domestic and international routes. At the launch, Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka confirmed the new aircraft was the first of eight MAX 8s to join the airline, and there were also 25 737 MAX 10s on order. In November VA announced it had ordered six additional MAXs and that the remaining 11 are expected to progressively arrive in 2024.

VA also confirmed that the 25 MAX 10s order remains in place, with deliveries starting in late 2025. With 39 new generation 737 MAXs in the pipeline VA is making a rapid and significant fleet renewal program to its current fleet of more than 80 737-700/800s. The mid-market carrier is investing AU$110 million ($74m) in refurbishing 737-800s to the same cabin standard as the MAX 8s over the next 18-24 months, so this combination of refurbishment and new aircraft arrivals is great news for VA passengers in 2024.

Tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the three existing MAX 8s, VH-8IA, VH-8IB and VH-8IC, generally operate around four sectors daily. These often include a short sector, like a Sydney-Melbourne return, followed by a longer transcontinental return to Perth or Brisbane. The 737 MAX 8 was introduced to VA passengers on the route between Cairns in North Queensland and Tokyo Haneda, and recently, it has been flown mostly by VH-8IC.

Bringing the international bags inhouse

Most followers of aviation – and Simple Flying readers – would have heard about the court cases and bad publicity that followed the Qantas decision to outsource its baggage handling to a third-party ground handler. The fallout has still not settled, and whatever the economics of the decision, it has hurt the image of Qantas and received far more negative publicity than it should have.

Virgin Australia has taken precisely the opposite approach by announcing it is insourcing its Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne international ramp (baggage handling) operations from early this year, mirroring the way it currently handles domestic services. VA said the insourcing is both economically rational and core to its commitment to upskilling its people and providing more hours to team members who want them.

Virgin Australia General Manager Airport Experience Paul Woosnam said the airline’s short-haul international operation plays an important role in delivering value and choice to customers, with 10-12 flights daily from Australia to six destinations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Source :https://simpleflying.com/virgin-australia-boeing-737-max-8-2024/