Virgin Australia has experienced a fall in passenger numbers, although the airline says it is reaping greater returns from airfares.
Virgin’s domestic passenger numbers slid 0.3 per cent in November, while international passengers fell 1.6 per cent.
The airline moved 1.67 million passengers across its network in the month, down around 10,000 compared to a year ago.
But in a statement on Wednesday, the airline said yields – a measure of average airfares per passenger – had increased since the start of the financial year in July.
That compares favourably with rival Qantas which last month said both passenger numbers and yields declined in November, contributing to an expected $300 million underlying loss for the airline for the first six months of the financial year.
Qantas also suffered a decline in yields last financial year, partly due to excess capacity as it works to maintain market share against Virgin.