Virgin Australia $67.8m full year loss

CEO John Borghetti said it had been a year of “enormous challenge and significant change as we began repositioning the company to ensure a more stable financial future”.

He said the figures reflect the impact of an “unprecedented series of external events” and reinforce the importance of the ongoing Game Change Program strategy.

Total revenue was up 9.7% to $3.27 billion, and Borghetti said the airline was beginning to reap the benefits of the changes, with corporate and government revenues up a healthy 29% year on year. Borghetti said this segment now makes up 13% of the airline’s total revenue.

“We expect to see further gains in the 2012 financial year as we complete the roll-out of our new product offering,” he said.

As well as natural disasters the result was hit by high fuel prices and the failure of the Navitaire system in Oct 2010.

Borghetti said Virgin Australia was firmly committed to its revamp, with the ongoing expansion of its alliance network set to see the Delta Air Lines pact launch by the end of the year – by which time DJ is also expecting a decision on its proposed agreement with Singapore Airlines.

He also announced the first stage of a revamped Velocity loyalty program, which will offer a “global network of 600 services internationally, simplified earn and burn structrues, innovative rewards for loyalty such as complimentary lounge passes and parental leave options, and importantly a new Platinum tier to provide unique benefits to our most frequent flyers”.

Going forward, “we are confident we have the right strategy to manage our response to changes in future market conditions and to ensure a stable and successful future for Virgin Australia,” Borghetti said.

More information in today’s Travel Daily. www.traveldaily.com.au