Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International) has successfully amended its determination with Australia's International Air Services Commission to include its wholly owned low-cost subsidiary Tigerair Australia (Melbourne Tullamarine) on its USA route authority. Three other applications to include Tigerair on New Zealand, Fiji and Vanuatu routes were withdrawn.

"From information available to the Commission, it has reached the view that Tiger is reasonably capable of obtaining the necessary approvals to operate on the USA route and of implementing the service in accordance with the Australia-USA air services arrangements," the Commission's Determination says.

Tigerair currently operates within Australia domestically, with a fleet of fourteen A320-200s and three B737-800s. It previously provided services internationally to Denpasar, Indonesia, but these were suspended in early 2017 over regulatory issues.

Virgin, for its part, currently offers services from Brisbane International, Melbourne Tullamarine and Sydney Kingsford Smith to Los Angeles International.