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Jet setters won’t be able to jump on a Virgin Blue (ASX:VBA) flight around Australia anymore, after the company rebrands itself as Virgin Australia today.
The owner of the company, Richard Branson, will join the Australian chief, John Borghetti, in unveiling a new two-class boeing 737, new business class, and new name in Sydney later today.
The carrier’s new branding campaign is understood to be intended to boost its corporate market share from 12 to 20 per cent.
The man commissioned by QANTAS to enhance the image of its flying Kangaroo, Hans Hulsbosch, was headhunted by Virgin to do the same work for the newer carrier, in an effort to appeal to business travellers.
In the first half of the 2011 financial year Virgin Blue’s earnings fell 62 per cent to $23.8 million.