Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has stepped down from the role after leading the company for nearly four years.

Ms Hrdlicka, who was appointed as the airline's first female CEO in November 2020 after it was sold to private equity firm Bain Capital, said she decided to leave the role after four years of "heavy lifting".

In a statement, she said the timing of her departure would allow for the company to prepare for its next challenge — increasingly speculated to include re-listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in the coming months.

"I have decided the time is right for me to signal CEO transition for this great airline and ultimately to pass the baton on," she said.

"There is a lot to do and an IPO (initial public offering) to deliver ... the next phase of this journey is another 3-5 years, making now the perfect juncture to begin the process of leadership transition."

Virgin Australia was placed into voluntary administration in April 2020 with debts of $6.8 billion, after the federal government and Richard Branson's Virgin Group declined to provide additional funding to save the airline.

The collapse of Virgin Australia was one of the first corporate casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In August 2020, Bain Capital made an offer of $3.5 billion for the company, which was approved by creditors in September.

Under its new owners, Virgin Australia announced plans to cut around 3,000 jobs — equivalent to a third of its workforce — and abolish its budget airline brand Tiger so it could survive the turbulence brought on by the pandemic.

As part of the ownership changes, Ms Hrdlicka was appointed as Virgin Australia's CEO in November 2020, replacing Paul Scurrah.

Ms Hrdlicka's leadership saw Australia's second-largest airline return to profitability in the 2023 financial year.

"Her leadership was fundamental to repositioning the airline back to its roots as a value carrier, returning Virgin Australia to profitability for the first time in 11 years," Virgin Australia chair Ryan Cotton said.

"It has laid a strong foundation for continued growth and margin expansion that will underpin Virgin Australia's competitive position in the Australian market.

"I'd like to personally thank Jayne for her passion, commitment and dedication. The progress Virgin Australia has made to date is testament to her leadership."

Virgin Australia said it would soon begin a global search for its next CEO.

Prior to joining Virgin Australia, Ms Hrdlicka was widely speculated to join as a member of its board, thanks to a longstanding relationship with Bain.

The American-born executive started her career at Bain & Co, a management consultancy firm which spawned the private investment firm Bain Capital.

Ms Hrdlicka worked two stints at Bain & Co — the first in the late 1980s, the second in the late 1990s — before joining Qantas in 2010.

After two years as a senior executive with Qantas, she was appointed as the third CEO of Jetstar in 2012.

Ms Hrdlicka remained as Jetstar's chief executive for six years, and in that time delivered a series of record profits for the budget carrier.

After leaving Qantas in April 2018, Ms Hrdlicka was named as the chief executive of a2 Milk in July that year, but stepped down after 18 months citing family reasons.

As well as the boss of Virgin Australia, Ms Hrdlicka is the chair of Tennis Australia, a position she has held since October 2017.

At the time of her appointment, outgoing Virgin Australia CEO Paul Scurrah said Ms Hrdlicka was a "safe set of hands" because of her years-long relationship with the private equity firm.

That sentiment was echoed by Bain Capital boss Mike Murphy, who said Ms Hrdlicka's  "deep aviation, commercial, operational and transformation experience" made her suitable to lead the airline under its new owners.

In the past 12 months, Ms Hrdlicka had been vocal in her criticism of a federal government decision that rejected a Qatar Airways application to increase its weekly flight capacity.

In July, the federal government said the decision was not in the national interest, while former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the additional flights would cause market distortion — which Ms Hrdlicka said was "nonsense".

"You need to add seats where the demand exists, and the constraints are in these major capital cities, and that's where the seats need to come, and that's what Qatar has applied for," she told RN Breakfast last August.

"It's also a bit of nonsense to say it's a market distortion when there's such little capacity that's recovered."

In 2021, the then newly-minted Virgin CEO told a business function in Brisbane that Australia "can't keep COVID out forever" and "some people may die" when borders reopened, and urged the government to clarify its way forward.

The comments drew furore, including from the-then prime minister Scott Morrison who said the comments were insensitive.

Ms Hrdlicka later acknowledged that her comments offended some people, and clarified that Virgin Australia was "absolutely committed" to keeping the community safe.