Virgin jobs under threat in NZ

A Virgin Australia plane at Auckland Airport. Photo / Richard Robinson.

Jobs of Virgin Australia managers in New Zealand are under threat as the airline assesses whether it will shift the roles to Australia.

Virgin's management in this country is based in Christchurch and it is believed up to 40 staff could be affected.

The airline's pilots and cabin crew based here would not be affected.

"We are currently reviewing a proposal to integrate the management of Virgin Australia New Zealand's operations into the rest of our international operations, which would see one team manage all of our international operations out of Brisbane, Australia," a spokeswoman said.

The airline said proposal would create a single line of accountability, improving coordination of our international operations and reducing duplication.

"No decision will be made until we consult with our New Zealand based staff and consider their feedback," the spokeswoman said.

Under the proposed changes, the aircraft currently servicing trans-Tasman and South Pacific services will continue to be crewed by the current pilots and cabin crew.

"We are committed to bringing competition to the Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific aviation markets - our destinations and frequency will remain unchanged.

Virgin has had links to Christchurch since its subsidiary Pacific Blue started services from the city a decade ago.

Virgin Australia is about 24 per cent owned by Air New Zealand and locked in a bitter battle with Qantas for domestic market share in Australia.

Yesterday Qantas said it will close its call centres in Brisbane and Melbourne with the loss of about 450 staff as the airline aims to hit its restructuring target of 5000 job losses as part of a A$2 billion cost saving programme for the airline which is suffering big losses..