Today Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd [ASX:VAH] shares increased 4.08%.
With a market cap of $2.156 billion and an enterprise value of $3.15 billion, the airlines have been on the rise since last year.
Since November 2017 their shares have grown steadily, going up by 11.4% at one point.
Virgin managed to produce a decent cash flow result of $34.3 million for financial year 2017.
They have not produced such a positive increase since FY 2012.
Virgin has also stripped off $839 million from its debt, lowering the debt figure to $1.04 billion.
Virgin is working to delivering leverage improvements through capacity management and strong earnings as well as strict management.
What has Virgin been doing?
This month, Virgin released 15 new self-service kiosks at the Adelaide Airport to assist with cutting queue times.
Self-service kiosks are a part of a two-part plan with automated self-bag drops being the second phase, these are to be installed within the year.
Ground crew will also be allowed to move around the check-in area more quickly with service pods, which aid travellers when required.
Automated bag drops will allow guests to scan their boarding pass and put their bags through check-in before going through security.
Virgin Australia Airlines Group executive Rob Sharp, stated:
‘This is about freeing up our team members at the airport and allowing them to deliver a more concierge-style service and adapt to demand more easily.’
Despite all the new innovations in technology, check-in counters will still be available to customers, to offer a more traditional line of assistance.
What do these new services mean?
The service will reduce the overall waiting time at airports and provide a form of convenience to its customers.
Rob Sharp also keeps cruises in mind, and this year’s cruise season has broken records for New South Wales.
As a result, self-service kiosks will be put into play for cruise ships, allowing passengers to deal less with baggage issues and more with exploring the cities.
Virgin Australia plans to explore further opportunities by implementing their new service across different locations.
Regards,
Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,
For Money Morning
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