Virgin Australia will take delivery of two Boeing 737-800 aircraft in May and June on sale and leaseback deals with Jackson Square Aviation.

The Australian carrier has 51 737-800 aircraft on order, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.

Virgin Australia more than doubled its profit before tax for the first half of fiscal 2012 to Australian dollar (A$) 77.3 million ($82.3 million) from A$36.8 million a year earlier, despite rising fuel costs.

Revenue for the first half ended 31 December, 2011 increased by 18% to A$1.99 billion, compared with A$1.69 billion in the same period last year.

The airline's operating expenses amounted to A$1.9 billion, an increase of 17.5% compared with A$1.61 billion for the first half in 2010. Aircraft fuel costs for the period rose by 22.7% to A$532 million from A$433 million.

Source: Commercial Aviation Online