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Virgin Australia has been named Australia’s most trusted travel and tourism brand for the third year running.
Roy Morgan’s 2025 Trusted Brand Awards saw Australia’s second-largest airline group hold on to the crown it seized from Qantas in 2023, with hardware retailer Bunnings Warehouse named the most trusted brand in the country overall.
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“We are incredibly grateful to be recognised as Australia’s Most Trusted Travel & Tourism Brand again in 2025,” said Virgin Australia chief marketing officer, Libby Minogue.
“This recognition reflects the trust our guests place in us every day, and it’s something we’ll never take for granted.
“This award also recognises our 8,000 team members who work tirelessly to deliver the service our guests deserve and can count on every time they fly with Virgin Australia.”
According to Roy Morgan, the annual awards go to brands which “had exceptional years with high levels of trust, and exceedingly low, or negligible, levels of distrust”.
“The ‘threepeat’ for Virgin Australia shows the airline has powered out of the pandemic period with a reputation for trust far ahead of its rivals in the sector,” said Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine.
“Travellers on Virgin Australia rated the airline highly for trust, and credited Virgin Australia as ‘down-to-earth, approachable, and with a good track record’ and ‘the most reliable of airlines in terms of flight times and, when cancelled, they’re quick to offer compensation without even being prompted’ – qualities that propelled the airline to the most trusted brand in travel and tourism in 2023, where it has remained ever since.”
The pollster in June found Virgin’s main rival, Qantas, was the fifth most distrusted brand in Australia, though it saw some signs of recovery.
The Flying Kangaroo’s position in Australia’s top 10 most distrusted brands remained unchanged, behind the two major supermarkets, Facebook/Meta, and Optus, though its overall trust/distrust score had seen improvement.
Formerly a highly trusted brand, Qantas saw its public image decline steadily during and after COVID-19 before suffering a massive hit in late 2023 with the ACCC’s “ghost flights” lawsuit and the subsequent resignation of chief executive Alan Joyce.
“The recovery of Qantas is following a trajectory that aligns closely with Roy Morgan’s Benchmark Recovery Rate, showing a near-consistent upward trend. Despite a temporary dip in March 2025, Qantas’ recovery has remained largely on track,” Levine said.
Virgin this year celebrated 25 years since its first flight as Virgin Blue in 2000.
