Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti interview: dual-brand strategies, Asia & being a modern airline

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti has transformed the landscape of Australian aviation, but his practices of virtual long-haul flying and strategic partnerships across multiple alliances offer examples for airlines globally to reflect on. Mr Borghetti, in a video interview for CAPA TV, discusses the pivotal changes Virgin has so far made as well as what is next.

Mr Borghetti affirms the distance he wants between Virgin and its LCC unit Tigerair Australia, unlike the closer Qantas-Jetstar relationship. Airlines should be like toothpaste, Mr Borghetti uses as an example: consumers should have a choice of distinct and separate brands without realising they are owned by the same few companies.

While Qantas expands its role in Asia, including a proposed JV with China Eastern, Mr Borghetti expresses no interest in an Asian strategy, preferring instead to remain focused on Virgin Australia's core domestic network and to work with Singapore Airlines and not another airline. "We can feed the China traffic over Singapore with Singapore Airlines and that's as good as it gets," Mr Borghetti says. "There is no better partner than Singapore Airlines."