iscover
The shortlist of bidders on Virgin Australia appears to have been whittled down to four, but with the state border closure debate heating up and uncertainty still clouding the future of the airline, how will this saga unfold?
As restrictions ease, airlines are – slowly and with baby steps – starting to take to the skies for recreational travel. Air New Zealand became one of the first, as the country moved from ‘Level 3’ to ‘Level 2’ rules that meant Kiwis are now encouraged to leave their homes and see friends and family.
The competition is fierce amongst potential buyers for Virgin Australia, but how is the current uncertainty around flights as well as threats from Alan Joyce going to affect the sale getting over the line?
Virgin Australia has had a particularly turbulent couple of days, from initially demanding a federal government bail-out, to state government hostility over the location of their HQ, to collapsing into voluntary administration.
While the coronavirus crisis has effectively crippled the aviation sector for the time being, the long-term effect on the industry once the regulations begin to ease still remains relatively unclear.
While the federal government has responded to the airline sector with billions of dollars’ worth of support, the struggle of small aviation businesses through the devastating COVID-19 crisis remain largely unrecognised. Businesses that were already financially strained due to the cost of keeping up with existing regulation are now in even direr straights.
