Spare a thought for this fleet manager

So, you think you've got your work cut out for you managing a fleet? Spare a thought for the team at Virgin Australia, who have just completed an overhaul of 56 aircraft to align with the company’s new branding, which was launched in 2011.

According to Flying Colours, the company responsible for repainting 23 of the fleet, each aircraft takes11 days, consumes 1200 man-hours, 18 painters and 260 litres of paint in order to be transformed.

Of course, it is part of a broader-reaching campaign that meant changes to in-flight services, airport lounge redevelopment and other business considerations, but it makes you realise that your day-to-day job is relatively easy in comparison.

A fleet vehicle won’t make any money sitting idle, but an inactive aircraft takes that to a whole new level. It’s no secret they keep those things in the air due to the exorbitant costs associated with ground time. Estimates are anywhere between $20,000 and $150,000 per day, depending on the nature of the grounding and where you get your information. By that reckoning, a change to the colour scheme could have set back the company anywhere between $220,000 and $1.65 million per plane.

Either way, it makes an annual service, smash repair or respray to align with a new brand seem like a walk in the park.