Virgin Australia has welcomed the first of six new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Dublin-based lessor Avolon.
On August 21, 2025, Avolon confirmed that the new aircraft had been safely delivered as part of a sale and leaseback arrangement with Virgin Australia.
Virgin Australia has been an Avolon customer since 2011 and already has eight aircraft on lease from the lessor.
A Virgin Australia-painted Boeing 737-8, registered VH-8VA, landed at Melbourne International Airport (MLB), Florida, on August 19, 2025, after a five-hour flight from Seattle Boeing Field (BFI), Washington.
According to ch-aviation, VH-8VA was part of a converted order in which 737-10s were swapped for 737-8s.
“We value our ongoing partnership with Avolon and we are pleased to welcome our first 737-8 MAX with the lessor. We look forward to building on our relationship with Avolon through future deliveries,” said Race Strauss, Chief Financial Officer at Virgin Australia.
According to Avolon, the new arrival is the 12th 737 MAX 8 aircraft in Virgin Australia’s fleet.
Paul Geaney, President and Chief Commercial Officer, Avolon, said: “We have a strong and long-standing relationship with Virgin Australia and are delighted to support their plans with 6 new 737-8 MAX aircraft. The scale of our orderbook and balance sheet give us the ability to provide our customer airlines with bespoke solutions to support their expansion and fleet transition.”
4 comments
A five-hour flight from Seattle to Melbourne, Australia? The distance is nearly 8,000 miles.
5 hours from Seattle to Melbourne…that’s impressive. AI journalism at its best.
Different Melbourne, this one (MLB) is in Florida. Pretty sure an ‘AI’ could have told you that 😉
Virgin Australia sends their new aircraft to Melbourne, FL first for installation of the onboard WiFi equipment. They then make their way to Brisbane to enter service. Yes, it’s quite amusing given they will spend a lot of their lives at the ‘original’ Melbourne (MEL)!