Virgin Australia Has Just Taken Delivery of Four MAX 8s

Virgin Australia has recently taken delivery of four B737-8s, also known as MAX 8s, including three in August. It is the start of a second tranche of MAX 8 deliveries after a one-year break. The aircraft will allow Virgin Australia to phase out older aircraft and also increase capacity, catering to growing domestic demand that is resulting in busy airports, full aircraft, and profitable flying.

The first of the recent deliveries, VH-8II (msn 65121) ferried into Brisbane (BNE) on July 31. It began scheduled flying for Virgin Australia on August 7. The second, VH-8IJ (msn 65126) flew into Brisbane on August 7 and started scheduled flying on August 13.

On August 20, the third B737-8 ferried into Brisbane. VH-8IK (msn 65116) operated its maiden scheduled flight for Virgin Australia on August 26 – VA912 down to Sydney (SYD). The most recent delivery, on August 26, was VH-8VA (msn 67034). It also flew into Brisbane but at the time of writing, has yet to enter service.

All four aircraft were built at Boeing’s factory outside Seattle. They then flew to Melbourne (MLB) in Florida for the finishing touches, including installing WiFi, before heading to Australia via Ontario (ONT) in California and Kailua-Kona (KOA) in Hawaii.

It was a while between drinks for Virgin Australia. They took delivery of eight B737-8s between July 2023 and August 2024 and then deliveries skidded to a halt. This was primarily due to production delays at Boeing,

Virgin Australia expects another two MAX 8s before the end of the year. Aero South Pacific understands Virgin Australia will take delivery of one this week in the United States. That aircraft will be enter into the Australian aircraft register as VH-8VB (msn 67035). It is due to fly from Seattle to Melbourne this week for final work (which can take a couple of weeks) before flying to Australia.

The final B737-8 due for delivery in 2025 is VH-8VC (msn 67036). It had its first test flight last week and will have a couple more before its hand over to Virgin Australia.

All up, the airline expects to take delivery of around thirteen B737-8s next fiscal year. Virgin Australia expects to retire six B737-800s by next July and the inbound aircraft will replace those. Virgin Australia will use others to expand the fleet.

Aero South Pacific tracks aircraft deliveries and exits at Virgin Australia and other airlines here. It is updated as movements occur.

This fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2026, Virgin Australia expects net fleet growth of three aircraft. That’s the B737-8 deliveries minus the six B737-800 exits plus the exit of three Fokker 100s and two A320-200s. Virgin Australia will replace those outgoing Fokker and Airbus aircraft with E190-E2s, the first of which are due imminently.

Over the long term, Virgin Australia expects to grow the fleet by around 3% per annum. Shorter term, it expects grow seat capacity by 4% through to December 31, 2025, then 3% through to June 30, 2026, then 5% through to December 31, 2026. 

Translated into raw numbers - as at 30 June, 2025, Virgin Australia’s fleet stood at 104 aircraft, plus 11 domestic wet leases. As of 30 June, 2026, the airline expects the fleet to grow to 107 aircraft, plus eight domestic wet leases.

There are several factors driving this growth agenda. On average, over five million people now hop on an Australian domestic aircraft each month. These numbers are growing. Virgin Australia’s market share is around 33.1%. Its passenger loads across the 12 months to June 30, 2025, averaged a handsome 84.9%. In the same 12 months, Virgin Australia generated revenues of AUD5.81 billion (USD3.81 billion) and a net profit of AUD331 million (USD217 million). The airline expects ongoing revenue and profit growth. These conditions favour fleet growth.

Photo: Boeing.