First Tigerair 737 breaks cover

The first of three Boeing 737s being transferred to Tigerair Australia to begin international services to Bali next year has emerged from the paintshop.

Virgin Australia 737-8FE VH-VUB was towed out of the Flying Colours paintshop at Townsville on Sunday morning ahead of flying into Melbourne on Sunday afternoon.

The aircraft is one of three 737s being transferred from Virgin to its wholly-owned low-cost unit Tigerair to take over the Adelaide-Bali, Melbourne-Bali and Perth-Bali routes from March 23 next year.

The 737s will remain on the Virgin Australia International Airlines air operator’s certificate and will be flown by Virgin pilots alongside Tigerair cabin crew. They are due to be reconfigured into a one-class layout with 180 seats.

Tigerair Australia currently operates 14 Airbus A320s.

VH-VUB flies into Melbourne on Sunday evening. (Brian Wilkes)