A quick one this week as we look at the dogfight taking place in Australia between Jetstar and Virgin Australia. Considering Jetstar Asia made the news recently after parent Qantas announced it would be shutting down the subsidiary, the Australian version of Jetstar continues (note the missing “Asia” in the name)

Originally a response by Qantas to inroads made by then Virgin Blue, Jetstar alone has grown to match the threat. But now Virgin Australia (after a name change in 2011) is pulling an ace out of its sleeve. (In fairness, this ace didn’t quite work out as well as hoped before, so we’ll call it less of an ace, more of a solid 7.)

That new card being played by Virgin Australia is not a new card at all: widebodies.

Following a restructuring during the pandemic, Virgin Australia emerged without widebodies. No widebodies, that is, until Qatar Airways took a 25% stake in the airline.

Know what Qatar Airways has? Widebodies.

Arriving in 2025 is the return of widebodies to Virgin Australia’s schedule, this time operated by part-owner Qatar, with a bit of a catch. While operating from multiple Australian markets, the returning widebodies have one solitary destination.

You guessed it, Doha Qatar.

62 years of narrowbodies deserve a soundtrack

Of the many comments we received on our animation of the history of narrowbodies, one stuck with us. It needed a soundtrack.

So here it is. This time, with matching audio glory.

Research published this week

You should do a chart on…

We like to create valuable charts. But, it’s not easy coming up with new ideas amid the endless hours delivering data-driven edge to our customers. In our quest to provide a valuable weekly newsletter we can keep guessing what you find most valuable, or you could just tell us.

If you have an idea for data visualization, reply to this email and let us know what analysis you’d find most valuable. We’d love to hear from you and will happily name-drop.

If you were forwarded this email, score!

As valuable as it is, don't worry; it's entirely free. If you would like to receive analyses like this regularly, subscribe below.

Then...

You can pay it forward by sending it to your colleagues. They gain valuable insights, and you get credit for finding new ideas!

Win-win!

Subscribe here