Virgin Australia to introduce first new jets to WA FIFO market and regional routes in decades

Virgin Australia has introduced the first new aircraft this century to serve WA’s lucrative fly-in-fly-out market and regional travellers. The airline on Tuesday revealed it had placed an order for eight Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, which will predominantly operate charter flights for Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. Joining Virgin Australia’s fleet from October next year, the new 100-seat aircraft will also ultimately replace the airline’s decades-old Fokker 100s. Making the announcement in Perth, head of the Velocity loyalty program Nick Rohrlach said it was the perfect aircraft to serve its charter customers across the State. “(It’s) a huge vote of confidence in both our business and the important needs of the people travelling here in WA,” he said. “The E2 is the most fuel-efficient, single-aisle aircraft in the world, with the lowest noise profile of any aircraft in its segment.” The new aircraft would also result in the creation of 150 new jobs, including pilots and cabin crews, based in WA for VARA over the next three years. It was widely reported earlier this year that Virgin Australia was considering replacing its Fokker 100s, which have an average age of around 30 years, with either the Embraer E190-E2 or Airbus A220-100. Asked if there were concerns around the capacity of regional airports to accommodate the new aircraft, Mr Rohrlach said: “We’re very confident that ... we’ll be able to service all of those (airports) with this aircraft.” Formerly known as Skywest, VARA has been a fixture in the WA landscape for more than six decades. It joined Virgin Australia in 2013 and now operates more than 250 services a week. Virgin Australia group chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the new aircraft would improve performance, reliability and customer comfort. “When the first new E190-E2 enters service from October 2025, it will become the first brand new aircraft in the WA charter market this century,” she said. “The E190-E2 is the most fuel-efficient aircraft in its segment and will reduce emissions by about 30 per cent compared to the outgoing F100. “These aircraft also feature significantly lower noise profiles and enhanced passenger comfort.” Embraer commercial aviation chief commercial officer Martyn Holmes said it was looking forward to seeing its best-in-class E190-E2 take Virgin Australia to even greater heights. “Now it is Western Australia’s turn to experience this exciting class-leading aircraft,” he said. “Embraer applauds Virgin Australia’s vision to execute what is set to be the most significant innovation to Western Australia’s charter market operator model for the past 20 years.” Since it was founded in 1969, Brazil-headquartered Embraer has delivered more than 8000 aircraft globally. Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said the move was a major investment in WA’s regional aviation sector and would help grow the number of jobs available in the State. “These new eight aircraft will be state-of-the-art, (offer) more comfort for the passengers and also of course, not only serving our resources industry, we also hope to help service our general aviation industry,” she said. “I’ve said on many occasions this State Government is very much backing regional air fares and regional air travel in Western Australia. “We understand WA is a very, very big State and we all want to work with the airline industry to continue to support new aircraft and new services.” Perth Airport last year announced an $80 million investment into regional aviation, including the construction of a $35m hangar to service VARA. Virgin Australia on Tuesday said the construction of the hangar was continuing, with opening expected later this year.