Virgin Australia taps Bain veteran Dave Emerson for Jayne Hrdlicka gig as float, Qatar Airways deal loom

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Virgin Australia taps Bain veteran Dave Emerson for Jayne Hrdlicka gig as float, Qatar Airways deal loom

Bain Capital has picked one of its veterans to be the next head of Virgin Australia as the private equity giant tries to spruce up the airline for a return to the stock exchange.

Former Bain senior partner and its one-time global aviation chief Dave Emerson is to take over from Virgin chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka on March 14, ending a year of speculation about who will run Australia’s second-biggest airline.

Bain moved the American executive from Dallas to Brisbane in mid-2021 to help with the post-administration restructure of Virgin. Mr Emerson was given the title chief commercial officer and seen by industry players as a potential CEO.

Virgin chair Ryan Cotton, a senior Bain partner, said it was clear after a “global search” that Mr Emerson was the “right leader to continue the implementation of Virgin Australia’s strategy”.

Virgin unveiled his appointment as chief executive on Wednesday, shortly after the leaking of an internal email from Ms Hrdlicka providing an upbeat assessment of the airline’s recent performance.

Ms Hrdlicka told staff that Virgin enjoyed its best December half results in its 24-year history, with its underling earnings before interest and tax rising 2.3 per cent to $439 million. She reported “strong performance” across its domestic, regional, short-haul international, cargo and Velocity frequent flyer operations.

“Our transformation program is a key driver behind these results,” the outgoing boss said. “This outcome demonstrates how well the program is being delivered at a time in our business and our industry where inflation is at unprecedented levels.”

The private group does not publish its half-yearly accounts, but its audited accounts for 2023-24 show it enjoyed a quadrupled statutory net profit of $545m for the year to June 30..

Ms Hrdlicka was recruited to join Virgin in November 2020 as Bain was buying the airline out of administration, which had crashed during the COVID-19 pandemic because of big debts.

Bain has since made two unsuccessful attempts to float the restructured airline on the *********** Securities Exchange.

But it is reportedly testing the waters for another crack at floating Virgin as the Brisbane-based carrier generates solid profits from its domestic duopoly with Qantas and touts the potential of new long-haul operation using jets and crews provided by Qatar Airways.

Virgin cleared the second last barrier to its equity and operational tie-up with Qatar Airways on Wednesday with the International Air Services Commission approving the planned 28 weekly return flights between Doha and Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The *********** Competition and Consumer Commission is expected to shortly give the final nod to Virgin’s proposed wet lease deal with Qatar, having given draft approval last month.

Treasurer Jim Chalmer last week cleared the way for the Doha-based giant to buy a 25 per cent stake in Virgin.

Mr Emerson said Virgin’s return to long-haul flying and innovations in its domestic services were “creating new opportunities for our team”.

“The strategy we set as we emerged from administration several years ago is now paying off,” Mr Emerson said. “I will continue the transformation journey begun under Jayne’s outstanding leadership.”

Virgin has slashed debt under the leadership of Ms Hrdlicka and the control of Bain, which has enjoyed around $1 billion of dividends and capital returns.

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