Joyce unshaken by Virgin’s ties to Tiger

Virgin Australia’s recent push into what has been traditionally Qantas territory has not broken Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce’s confidence, claiming his airline is still in the “best position”.

Speaking at a forum in Canberra a day after Virgin announced it intends to purchase a 60 percent stake in Tiger Australia and obtain full acquisition of Skywest, Mr Joyce declared Qantas was still “going to be very competitive, no matter what happens”, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

“I’d rather have the best business airline in the country; I’d rather have the best low-cost carrier in the country; I’d rather the best regional carrier in the country,” he said.

As part of the announcement made earlier this week, Virgin will invest up to AU$62.5 million into Tiger to grow the low-cost carrier’s fleet from 11 aircraft to 35 by 2018.

Meanwhile, Skywest will rebrand to Virgin Australia, while Tiger will remain a separate business.

Today Qantas also announced it will fast track the refurbishment of 16 Boeing 767 aircraft as part of a wider investment in its domestic operations.

The first of the "refreshed" aircraft took off this morning with new interiors and individual in-flight entertainment.

Sourced: etravelblackboardasia