Virgin Australia’s long-running B737-8 order nears completion

By Andrew Curran.

Virgin Australia’s twenty-fifth B737-8 is expected to land in Brisbane today, September 3, the second-last aircraft in an order that dates back 14 years. The final aircraft will ferry to Australia later this month.

VH-8VJ (msn 67048) was due to land in Brisbane (BNE) yesterday, but an airborne pneumatic issue saw the aircraft remain at Kailua-Kona Airport (KOA) around 24 hours longer than planned.

The final aircraft in the order, VH-8VK (msn 67043), is having the finishing touches applied to it at Boeing’s Seattle facility before flying to Melbourne (MLB) in Florida for Wi-Fi installation, a process that takes around one week, before ferrying to Australia.

It marks the completion of a stop-start order that was impacted by Boeing’s own internal issues, the COVID-19 pandemic and Virgin Australia’s slide into bankruptcy earlier this decade. The original order, which was for twenty-three B737-8s, then known as MAX 8s, plus options for another four, anticipated deliveries between 2019 and 2021. Instead, the first delivery did not occur until mid-2023.

B737-8s quietly transform Virgin Australia

The B737-8s have since arrived in waves, with the first three landing in Australia between June and September 2023, followed by a six-month pause before another five B737-8s arrived between March and August 2024. Then there was another eleven-month delivery drought before the aircraft began ferrying in again in July 2025.

Between July 2025 and the end of that year, six more B737-8s arrived, taking the total fleet count to 14 aircraft. But in 2026, the deliveries really picked up pace. Today’s arrival of VH-8VJ marks the eleventh B737-8 delivery to Virgin Australia in 2026. VH-8VK will be the twelfth.

Virgin Australia has used the B737-8s to replace outgoing B737-800s and to build capacity. The airline’s fleet renewal programme has been overshadowed by the stream of A220-300s and A321-200XLRs arriving at Qantas. However, the B737-8s’ lower operating costs were a contributing factor to Virgin Australia’s recently announced statutory net after-tax profit of AUD501 million (USD357.9 million) for the 12 months to June 30, 2026.

The MAX 8s now cover most flights to short-haul destinations such as Queenstown (ZQN), Denpasar (DPS), Nadi (NAN) and Port Vila (VLI). They also feature heavily on transcontinental flights to and from Perth (PER) and north–south flights to Cairns (CNS), as well as operating selected services to and from other Australian airports.

Virgin Australia’s overall fleet to shrink slightly in FY2027

Including VH-8VJ, the Virgin Australia Group operates 111 aircraft. This excludes wet-leased aircraft and three recently retired A320-200s currently being held for return. The overall fleet size increased by seven aircraft in the 12 months to June 30, 2026.

“We took delivery of 17 new aircraft in FY26, including thirteen Boeing MAX 8 aircraft and four Embraer E2 aircraft,” Virgin Australia CFO Race Strauss told analysts last week. “This allowed further simplification of the fleet, with the Fokker 100s sold and the remaining A320s no longer in operation.”

But over the current financial year, through June 30, 2027, the Group anticipates its fleet dropping to 110 aircraft. Although Virgin Australia is receiving the last five B737-8s and two new E190-E2s this financial year, it is exiting five B737-800s and the three stored A320-200s. By the end of the 2027 financial year, B737-8s will account for 25% of the Group’s overall fleet, delivering fuel, maintenance and sustainability benefits.

Seventeen of the current twenty-five B737-8s are leased, including many on sale-and-leaseback terms. By the end of FY2027, the Group aims to own around 39% of its aircraft, including buying five B737-8s. Some B737-800s will also be converted from leased to owned.

Meanwhile, after a break in deliveries, Virgin Australia expects the first of its ten B737-10s to begin ferrying in towards the end of 2027. The airline says the aircraft will be used to provide additional capacity and flexibility across its domestic and short-haul international network.

Photo: Virgin Australia.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com