Virgin Australia expects return to profitability by next June

Sydney

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said it would return to profit by next June for the first time in four years, counting on a switch of long-haul routes to its low-cost Tigerair subsidiary to reverse international losses.

The airline will move several Bali routes from its mainline carrier to Tigerair Australia, the former Tiger Airways Holdings unit that it took into 100 per cent ownership last October. It will also pull out of flights linking Perth to Phuket and add flights to New Zealand, Fiji and the Solomon Islands, the airline said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.