Virgin Blue was launched in 2000. Initially offering seven return flights a day between Brisbane and Sydney, this has since been expanded to cover all major Australian cities and many holiday destinations. The Virgin Blue name was the result of an open competition.
The timing of Virgin Blue’s entry into the Australian market was fortunate as it was able to fill the vacuum created by the failure of Ansett Australia in September 2001. Ansett’s failure allowed Virgin to grow rapidly to become Australia’s second domestic carrier. Virgin Blue previously used a familiar formula pioneered by airlines such as Southwest Airlines and Ryanair eliminating costs such as included in-flight meals and printed tickets in favour of selling food on-board and using telephone and internet booking systems. It also cut costs in the past by limiting the number of airports serviced and by operating one type of aircraft. This strategy changed with the introduction of a second type into the fleet.
In 2011, the airline announced that the word ‘Blue’ would be dropped from its name as part of a campaign to attract more business travellers away from rival Qantas. On 4 May 2011, the former Virgin Blue revealed its new name, Virgin Australia as well as its new livery.
Source: Wikipedia
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