Several "high-quality" parties have expressed an interest in taking over Virgin Australia, the administrators have revealed, as 1,300 of the airline's creditors and observers including financiers, employees, unions and bondholders met via video link.

Key points: Virgin Australia entered voluntary administration on April 21 owing almost $7 billion to more than 12,000 creditors

Virgin Australia entered voluntary administration on April 21 owing almost $7 billion to more than 12,000 creditors Already several parties have expressed an interest in taking over the airline and the process should be wrapped up by the end of June

Already several parties have expressed an interest in taking over the airline and the process should be wrapped up by the end of June Deloitte is the administrator, while Morgan Stanley has been appointed alongside Houlihan Lokey to run the sale process

Deloitte was appointed this month to restructure and sell Virgin, as the airline became Asia-Pacific's first to fall amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Travel bans implemented to control the spread of the virus forced the airline to ground most of its planes and temporarily stand down the majority of its 10,000-strong workforce.

After failing to secure agreement on financial support, Virgin Australia was placed under voluntary administration on April 21.

The airline now owes almost $7 billion to more than 12,000 creditors, and will next meet on August 22.

Morgan Stanley has been appointed, alongside Houlihan Lokey, to run the sale process.

The first meeting of creditors took place this morning via video link, due to social distancing measures.

Deloitte partner and lead administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said the meeting, hosted in Sydney, lasted just over an hour, and that a large number of parties had expressed an interest.

"Eight have signed non-disclosure agreements and negotiations are continuing with another 12," he said.

Mr Strawbridge said the administrators issued an information memorandum this week and opened a data room for interested parties that had signed non-disclosure agreements.

A small group of creditors has been elected to represent the interests of Virgin's wider creditors during the administration process.

The question of whether the airline had been carrying too much debt would be looked at as part of the administration process. ( Supplied: Brisbane Airport Corporation )

Mr Strawbridge said Virgin Australia was continuing to operate during the voluntary administration process, with 64 return domestic services each week, contracted domestic charter flights and Federal Government-supported international flights to Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

He said Deloitte would continue with a "transformation plan" that Virgin's management had put in place before the coronavirus crisis disrupted airlines.

"Voluntary administration provides a process where that can be accelerated in a way that it couldn't before," he said.

"We remain acutely aware of the impact this process has on employees and know they want to be flying again as soon as possible. "

What will Deloitte need to do now?

Deloitte now has the task of finding new owners to take over the airline and keep it operating.

In the unlikely event that is not possible, it would have to sell off Virgin's remaining assets to pay off creditors.

While Deloitte is working as administrator of the airline, Morgan Stanley and Houlihan Lokey's Jim McKnight, who has worked on high-profile corporate collapses in the past, will run the sale process.

Deloitte did not disclose specific details regarding the parties that have expressed an interest in taking over the airline.

But some aviation experts argue the new owner will shrink Virgin's fleet and focus mostly on profitable domestic routes.

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Today, the administrators advised their intention to seek an extension of time beyond May 22 to wrap up the process given the "scale and scope of their work".

This means a second meeting of creditors will not happen until August 22.

"Our objective is to restructure and refinance the business so it emerges stronger on the other side of the COVID-19 crisis," Mr Strawbridge said.

"It's still early days, yet I've been encouraged by the level of sophisticated party interest in the sale of Virgin Australia."

Which creditors are owed what?

Virgin's creditors include its staff, the banks, aircraft lessors, and customers with credits from cancelled bookings or frequent flyer points.

Virgin Australia owes about $6.8 billion to 10,247 known creditors.

But Deloitte partner and Virgin administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said this was likely to change as more information becomes available, and it estimates the total number of creditors will be over 12,000.

Employees are by far the biggest group and the most crucial in terms of creditors' order of priority. They account for 9,020 of the total number of creditors and are owed $451 million.

On April 23, Deloitte listed the carrier's debts as including:

Twenty-six secured lenders who are owed about $2.3 billion

Twenty-six secured lenders who are owed about $2.3 billion Unsecured bondholders owed about $2 billion

Unsecured bondholders owed about $2 billion Fifty aircraft lessors owed about $1.9 billion

Fifty aircraft lessors owed about $1.9 billion More than 9,000 employees owed $451 million

More than 9,000 employees owed $451 million More than 1,000 trade creditors owed about $167 million

More than 1,000 trade creditors owed about $167 million Eighty-one landlords owed about $71 million

Virgin has about 144 aircraft and about half of them are under lease. These are mostly 737-800s, but also includes their A330s and ATR72s.

Deloitte has asked lessors for waivers over lease payments while it works through the voluntary administration process.

But already, Perth Airport has used heavy machinery and company vehicles to block a number of Virgin Australia aircraft from taking off over what it says are significant unpaid debts.

Deloitte had also revealed the cost of voluntary administration could be about $20 million to $30 million, with further costs to be incurred should the matter proceed to liquidation.

A front-end loader sits in front of a Virgin Australia plane, blocking it from leaving. ( ABC News )

Why are Virgin's bondholders at risk?

It is estimated there are more than 5,000 individual bondholders of Virgin debt.

This makes them the second-largest group of creditors by number after Virgin Australia employees.

But they are also the most vulnerable, as they are 'unsecured bondholders', meaning they are behind secured lenders in terms of being able to recoup their money.

A block of Virgin bondholders has appointed Corrs Chambers Westgarth as an independent adviser, with the aim of acting as a unified group. This may help it secure a payout.

When will the new owner be finalised?

Deloitte expects to present the restructured airline to potential buyers in mid-May.

"We are now moving quickly to finalise a business plan to help guide interested parties and, in terms of next steps, mid-May is currently the timeframe for the receipt of indicative offers," Mr Strawbridge said.

"Binding offers will then be required in June.

"We remain confident that our target of achieving a sale by the end of June is achievable."

He said they were focused on restructuring and refinancing the business, and creating a viable operation that would appeal to prospective new owners.

The hope is to bring Virgin out of external administration as soon as possible, with an "outcome that will retain jobs and the airline's contribution to Australia and its economy".

Who could take over as the new owner?

There's much speculation about who will take over as the new owner.

One potential is private equity firm BGH Capital. It has the backing of Australia's largest superannuation fund, AustralianSuper.

Other parties that had been considering a play for Virgin included retail conglomerate Wesfarmers.

Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has also reportedly put his hand up.

Canadian asset manager Brookfield is considering a joint bid with investment bank Macquarie.

Former Macquarie Group boss Nicholas Moore is already working as a government adviser during the administration process.

There have also been reports that US airline investor Indigo Partners and private buyout firms Bain Capital, Apollo Global Management and Oaktree Capital Management could be potential bidders

Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, Temasek, which has close links with BGH Capital, could also step in. Temasek owns Singapore Airlines, one of the current majority owners of Virgin Australia.

State governments in NSW and Queensland have also expressed competing interests in helping the airline in return for securing Virgin's headquarters.

And while the Committee for Melbourne has not put in a direct bid, its chief executive Martine Letts said its members had also expressed interest in locating Virgin's head office in Melbourne.

She said Melbourne was already the second-largest hub for the Australian aviation industry, hosting six of the top 10 flight routes in the country, with major transport connections to regional centres and other states.

"Melbourne Airport provides a logical location for a head office of a new Virgin carrier, particularly as it offers considerable growth opportunities, extensive assets and experience, a curfew-free environment and a new third runway," she said.

"With Sydney the location of the hub for Qantas, it makes sense that the other major city in Australia, Melbourne, be the host for the new Virgin carrier."

She also pointed out that Melbourne was on track to become the nation's most populated city by 2037.

"It already delivers significant business and leisure travel and hosts some of the most important tourism events in Australia, including the Grand Prix and the Australian Open," she said.

About 1,000 of Virgin Australia's 10,000 direct employees have already been made redundant. ( ABC News: Chris Gillette )

What happens to Virgin's frequent flyer arm Velocity?

The company that operates Velocity Frequent Flyer is reportedly pursuing Virgin Australia as a creditor.

It is not in administration itself, but it wants to recoup a $150-million loan extended to Virgin in 2014.

The loan, which was never repaid, has been rolling over every 12 months and has been accruing interest for some of those years.

The Australian Financial Review has reported Velocity Rewards will also be seeking $10 million worth of pre-bought seats set aside for frequent flyer members.

Velocity Rewards told the newspaper in a statement that it still hopes to have a strong relationship with the airline moving forward, but that it had a legal duty to seek the money it is owed.

Is a Federal Government loan still possible?

Yes. The Federal Government could still give a loan to Virgin to help the company.

The company's chief executive, Paul Scurrah, had repeatedly asked the Federal Government for a $1.4 billion loan, which could be converted into shares.

But by April 20, this bid had lowered to a request for just $200 million, which ultimately also got rejected.

The next morning, the company announced to the ASX it was going into voluntary administration.

To date, federal ministers including Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have said the Government does not want to "bail out" Virgin and prefers to leave the market to sort out its own problems.

But unions are still holding hope that the Government will step in.

ACTU President Michele O'Neil said the unions representing Virgin Australia workers supported Deloitte remaining as administrators of the airline.

She said the hope was that they would be able to save 10,000 direct Virgin employees' jobs and 6,000 contractors' jobs, protect workers' entitlements and ensure a "viable, future-proof national carrier and a viable Australian airline industry".

"Every worker must be paid every cent of what is owed to them," she said.

"Without Virgin Australia, rural and regional Australians will be left without transport links, and Qantas will be handed a monopoly. "

She said there was still an opportunity for the Federal Government to take an equity stake in the airline.

"If they continue to sit back and watch this process unfold, they are sending a clear message: they do not care what happens to these workers and their families," she said.

Transport Workers' Union national secretary Michael Kaine said the TWU also wants to see the Government take an equity stake in the airline.

"We are keen for the Federal Government to reveal at this stage what role it is taking in this process and what potential plans it has to ensure Virgin can get back to functioning as Australia's second airline," he said.

The administrators said they had already received inquiries from a number of "high quality" interested parties and had told creditors that there were no plans for redundancies.

"There won't be a renegotiation of enterprise agreements and worker entitlements will continue to accrue, with assets to cover these entitlements," he said after the meeting.