Updates with details and background throughout, adds union comment

March 5 (Reuters) - Carrier Virgin Australia IPO-VIR.AX said on Wednesday it had picked Dave Emerson, its chief commercial officer, for its top seat, succeeding Jayne Hrdlicka, while the airline works to relist itself on the local stock exchange.

Hrdlicka, who announced her intention to step down in February 2024, led the airline through a critical four-year period, including its acquisition by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital in 2020 amid the turbulence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The leadership transition comes at a pivotal moment for Virgin, with Bain Capital reviving its long-anticipated plans for a public listing.

Initial efforts to return to the ASX, with an estimated A$1 billion ($625.5 million) offering, were previously delayed.

The appointment follows scrutiny from Australia's Employment Minister, Murray Watt, who urged the airline to carefully assess its next leader's industrial relations history.

At one point, Virgin's chief customer officer, Paul Jones, was reportedly considered a front-runner for the role.

Jones played a key role in the wrongful termination of over 1,700 ground workers at the start of the pandemic — a move later deemed illegal — while serving as a Qantas QAN.AX executive overseeing airports.

The powerful Transport Workers Union had said they would withdraw their support for Virgin Australia's plan to use planes and crew from Qatar Airways if Jones was appointed CEO.

"Virgin workers were instrumental to getting the airline back on its feet. They've always had the airline's best interests at heart and now Emerson must make it clear that workers are a priority going forward," said Michael Kaine, the union's national secretary.

"An architect of Qantas' illegal outsourcing, Paul Jones as Virgin CEO would have entrenched low morale and poor decision-making at Virgin."

Australia, last month, approved the Middle Eastern nation's acquisition of a 25% stake in Virgin Australia from Bain.

Dave Emerson joined the airline in 2021 and had previously led Bain & Company's global airline practice, based in Dallas.

($1 = 1.5987 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

((Rishav.Chatterjee@thomsonreuters.com))