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Airline operator Virgin Blue has nearly doubled its annual profit and says its outlook is positive for the financial year.
"Financial performance is strong, our outlook is positive and among the world's airlines, Virgin Blue's margins now rank among the top few most profitable carriers in the world," Virgin Blue chairman Neil Chatfield said at the company's annual general meeting in Brisbane yesterday. Virgin Blue's net profit in 2006-07, of A$215.8 million ($259 million) was up 92.3 per cent on the prior year.
The airline's New Zealand domestic arm, Pacific Blue, is due to start flying on November 12. More than 100,000 of its $39 main trunk fares were snapped up after their launch in August.
Pacific Blue will operate 10 flights a day between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and the airline has said it would consider extending its network to regional centres if there was public support.
Chatfield said the next 12 months would be a period of growth for Virgin Blue as the company extended its operations across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific and commenced long-haul international flying with the launch of V Australia in the fourth quarter of 2008. "Next year Virgin Blue will launch V Australia's first Boeing 777-300ER international flights to and from the US, adding a fourth airline and long-haul international feed to the current network of Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue," he said.
Chatfield said the first of Virgin's new Embraer E-170 aircraft entered into service on Tuesday with its first flight from Brisbane to Cairns.
"As the next 19 of these planes enter the country in rapid succession, we will open a new era in Australian aviation, expanding our Australian domestic network."
Escalating fuel prices contributed to a 9.3 per cent rise in total operating costs of A$1.84 billion for Virgin in 2006-07.
"The average price paid for jet fuel oil again rose by 7.9 per cent ... which increased our total fuel bill for the year to A$489 million, an increase of A$38 million on a production adjusted basis for the year," Chatfield said.
He said that the company had continued to implement its hedging policy and for 2008 Virgin had in place currency hedging covering 77 per cent of requirements and fuel hedging covering 55 per cent of requirements.
AAP
