Virgin bidder Cyrus plans to keep airline as full-service Qantas competitor

The Richard Branson-linked investment fund Cyrus Capital has said it wants to maintain Virgin Australia as a full-service international airline competing head-to-head with Qantas if it wins the race to buy the collapsed carrier. The New York-based group - which has a history of investing in airlines with Branson's Virgin Group - has told unions and state governments its long-term plan is for Virgin to remain roughly the same size it was before going into voluntary administration in April, according to sources close to the bid. The revelation of Cyrus' ambitions come amid growing fears that Virgin's new owners could drastically slash the size of its operations or turn it into a budget airline, at the loss of jobs and competition for the travelling public. Cyrus is competing against US private equity fund Bain Capital, Melbourne-based outfit BGH Capital and the American ultra-low cost airline specialist Indigo Partners. Sources close to Cyrus' bid who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters said the fund would cut some regional routes from Virgin's domestic network but otherwise continue flying between capital cities and major regional centres. International flying would gradually return as demand recovers from COVID-19, with a new fleet of fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliners to replace Virgin's Boeing 777s and Airbus A330s within the next five years.<br/>