Virgin Australia Ferries in MAX 8, First in a Year

Virgin Australia’s ninth B737-8 (MAX 8) is ferrying into Brisbane Airport on Friday, August 1, 2025. VH-8II (msn 65047) departed Ontario to ferry to Kailua-Kona on July 29. It was due to continue on to Brisbane the following day. However, that flight was cancelled. It is now expected on Friday afternoon. At the time of publishing, the aircraft is en route.

Being the ninth delivery isn’t a big deal, but it is Virgin Australia’s first new MAX in almost a year and should mark the start of an uptick in deliveries.

On top of the eight MAX 8s already operating for Virgin Australia, a further 15 are on order. Additionally, late last year, the airline agreed to lease another three. By the end of 2026, Virgin Australia expects to have twenty-six B737-8s in Australia and have the full complement of ordered MAX 8s by the end of 2027.

The airline also has ten B737-10s on order, with deliveries tentatively expected to start in late 2027. However, there is less certainty here as this aircraft type is yet to secure Federal Aviation Administration certification or begin production.

The next lot of inbound Virgin Australia B737-8s are VH-8IJ (msn 65126), VH-8IK (msn 65116), VH-8VA (msn 67034), and VH-8VB (msn 67035). I understand the next delivery will be VH-8IJ, likely later in August. It is currently in Melbourne, Florida, having Wi-Fi installed.

VH-8VA and VH-8VB are at Renton, Washington, for painting, while Virgin Australia has already officially accepted VH-8IJ, and test flights of VH-8IK have begun.

VH-8II is named Aldinga Beach and VH-8IJ is named Hutt Lagoon.

As Virgin Australia takes delivery of more B737-8s, they’ll start serving more airports. Recently, they’ve begun flying some services to smaller Queensland airports such as Proserpine, Mackay, and Rockhampton. Slightly more powerful engines (more thrust) on the incoming aircraft will also give Virgin Australia more deployment options.

Before the end of this year, Virgin Australia will return two B737-800s, VH-VUJ (msn 34443) and VH-VUO (msn 26601), to their lessors. With the new B737-8s and the two outgoing B737-800s, Virgin Australia should close out 2025 with 99 aircraft in its fleet.

Today’s delivery flight is operating as VA9947. 

Photo: Boeing