Virgin Australia has converted orders for 10 of the 40 Boeing 737 Max 8s it has on order to the larger Max 10 variant.
The carrier says that that deliveries of the 737 Max 10s will commence in 2022, and it remains on-track to take delivery of its first 737 Max 8 in November 2019.
All 737 Max aircraft are powered by CFM International Leap-1B engines.
Boeing
“The innovative interior of the Max 10 aircraft has a larger cabin and number of seats, and an extended range offering flexibility to our network, and greater efficiency for slot-constrained airports,” the carrier’s chief financial officer Geoff Smith says in an earnings call.
Chief executive John Borghetti adds that while it has committed to taking its first 737 Max 8 in 2019, it maintains flexibility to change the variants over the coming years.
While not commenting directly on which routes the 737 Max 10s will be deployed on, he adds that they will “form a very integral part of our customer offering on very important business routes,” indicating that they will likely be used on the busy Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane triangle.
In the year to 30 June, Virgin took delivery of its last five 737-800s on order, taking its group fleet of the type to 80 units. It also operates two 737-700s among its wider group fleet of 133 aircraft.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
