Virgin Australia CEO asks for same level of support from the Federal Government

Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti, in an Open Letter to the Australian Government, stated (29-Nov-2013) if Australia truly wants a "level playing field", then any measures that the Government plans to take to support Qantas should be offered to Virgin Australia. Mr Borghetti said: "We believe that this country needs at least two strong airlines, in order to ensure the travelling public are not faced with high airfares and restricted choice". He continued, "Virgin Australia has succeeded against the odds, in a very difficult marketplace with a major and dominant competitor three times its size that appears intent on flushing it out of the market. If any Government support was given to the dominant player, we would expect the same level of support. There have been media reports that the Government offered comfort letters to Qantas' credit rating agencies, prior to our capital raising. I would also note that if Virgin Australia had been afforded the benefit of such a letter, it would have enabled us to achieve superior outcomes from both the recent debt bond issue undertaken in the US market and the capital raising that is underway". [more - original PR]