United and Virgin Australia Group announced today a new partnership that will enhance the travel experience between Australia and the Americas. This partnership will add more benefits for both MileagePlus and Velocity Frequent Flyer members as well as access to more one-stop connections to cities across the United States, Australia, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. The agreement, which is subject to government approval, is set to roll out starting in early 2022.

United currently offers daily direct flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Sydney, while other services including flights from Houston and direct services to Melbourne are expected to resume later in 2022. Under this new partnership, United’s customers will now have access to top Australian destinations including Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide.

In addition to the ability to redeem and earn points/miles, eligible premier MileagePlus and Velocity members will also receive the following benefits when flying on United and Virgin Australia worldwide:

• Priority check-in
• Priority boarding
• Priority baggage delivery and additional baggage check allowance
• Priority security clearance
• Lounge access

The partnership will also triple Virgin Australia’s reach into the U.S., with customers accessing United’s vast domestic and international network, connecting at United’s multiple Australian gateways.

The partnership is another significant customer enhancement for the relaunched Virgin Australia, that will also see the airline resume the sale of codeshare flights at virginaustralia.com, starting with United services in early 2022, followed by the airline’s other international partners. Virgin Australia first paused the sale of codeshare flights on its website at the height of the pandemic, and today’s announcement will open a new gateway for travel between Australia and the U.S. and beyond.

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Virgin Australia Airlines has announced it has cancelled a quarter of its flights over the next two months as the Omicron has impacted its ability to staff flights.

Virgin Australia has suspended 10 routes starting in late January including the Sydney – Fiji route, its only international route.

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Virgin Australia Group has taken an important step in its journey towards Net Zero, unveiling the first phase of its fleet growth program which will see four new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft introduced to its network and Fokker 100 aircraft retired from service and replaced by Boeing 737-700s. 

The four new MAX 8 aircraft, scheduled to start entering service from February 2023, will reduce emissions by 15% per journey in comparison to current 737 NG aircraft. Each 737-700 will fly more passengers for a similar amount of fuel than each F100, resulting in 30% less emissions per seat per trip.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the fleet program is part of a broader growth strategy which will see the Boeing 737 fleet, currently consisting of 737-700 and 737-800 aircraft, increase to 88 with the inclusion of 4 MAX 8 aircraft in response to increasing demand.

“We are on track to return to 100% of pre-COVID domestic capacity by June this year and expect to well exceed those levels by year’s end, and our resources sector and contract flying in WA is in high demand. This investment in our fleet reflects the increased demand we are experiencing in all parts of Virgin Australia,” Ms Hrdlicka said.

“With growth comes a larger carbon footprint, so it’s vital that we take the right steps now to ensure that as we do more flying, we are also working to reduce our emissions.

“We have a younger average fleet age than other airlines operating in the Australian market and we are in a good position to phase out our older F100 aircraft for more fuel-efficient options.

“This fleet program is about making sure we capitalize upon that advantage as we work toward achieving our 33% domestic market share, strengthen our resources sector and contract flying, and continue on our journey to Net Zero.”

Since it’s re-launch in November 2020 the Virgin Australia Group has announced it will grow its 737 fleet by over 50%, from 58 aircraft to 88. The Group currently operates 10 x F100 aircraft across its operations in Western Australia, with the F100 fleet to be gradually transitioned out and replaced by 737-700s from first quarter 2023.  

As part of a future phase of its fleet program Virgin Australia Group has an additional 25 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft on order, which will transport more passengers for a similar amount of fuel to current 737 NG aircraft, resulting in 17% less emissions per seat per trip.

“Existing F100 flight and cabin crew, VARA engineering and support staff and corporate and operations functions will be progressively trained to operate and maintain a 737 NG fleet, both as F100 aircraft are retired and as the airline continues to grow its WA resources sector and contract flying business.”

In addition to its 737 fleet, Virgin Australia Group will also continue to operate Airbus A320 aircraft as part of its resources sector and contract flying operations.

Virgin Australia announced its commitment to Net Zero Emissions by 2050 in November last year. In addition to its fleet program the airline is also actively building out its wider sustainability strategy, including investigating operational efficiencies, the use of alternative fuels, and waste management and carbon offsetting programs.

Virgin Australia Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

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Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia have unveiled a new strategic partnership that will significantly expand both airlines’ networks, lounges and loyalty programmes.

Commencing mid-year, the partnership will give travellers greater access, unparalleled customer experience and unique benefits when travelling between Australia and Qatar Airways’ global network, with convenient transit options across Qatar Airways’ Australian gateways and key Virgin Australia hubs, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The strategic alliance will provide a critical trade and tourism boost for Australia, while opening a world of new travel opportunities for both airline’s customers.

The partnership agreement was announced at the start of the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, where Qatar Airways has a significant presence.

Qatar Airways currently operates daily flights into Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth as well as three weekly flights into Adelaide continuing into Auckland, New Zealand. Thanks to the new codeshare agreement, Qatar Airways’ passengers will be able to travel seamlessly to 35 destinations on Virgin Australia’s extensive domestic network, including key popular Australian tourist destinations, including Cairns, Gold Coast, Alice Springs and Broome, on a single booking. Qatar Airways’ passengers will also have access to Virgin Australia’s recently relaunched short-haul international markets, including Fiji and Queenstown, New Zealand.  Similarly, Virgin Australia customers and members of the airline’s award-winning Velocity Frequent Flyer loyalty program, will be able to directly access Qatar Airways’ route network of over 140 worldwide destinations, including the Middle East, Europe and Africa, via the airline’s hub and Skytrax-rated ‘World’s Best Airport’, Hamad International in Doha.

For Virgin Australia guests, access to Qatar Airways’ extensive network provides one-stop connectivity to a wide range of destinations and the ability to book Qatar Airways flights through the Virgin Australia website. Qatar Airways serves 54 cities in Europe with over 600 flights per week, offering a huge range of new choices for Virgin Australia customers. Likewise, Qatar Airways passengers can book flights through into the Virgin Australia network through http://www.qatarairways.com.

The strategic partnership will also include reciprocal loyalty benefits allowing Qatar Airways Privilege Club members to earn and redeem Avios when flying on Virgin Australia, with similar benefits for Velocity members when travelling on Qatar Airways’ services. Privilege Club and Velocity members will also enjoy a wide range of other unique benefits, depending on status tier, such as complimentary lounge access, complimentary extra baggage allowance, priority check-in, priority boarding and priority baggage delivery when flying respectively on Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways. Qatar Airways Privilege Club recently enhanced its programme through its partnership with Avios, significantly expanding accrual and redemption opportunities for its members.

The partnership with Virgin Australia builds on Qatar Airways’ long-term commitment to connecting Australia to the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Qatar Airways was the only airline consistently operating international services to Australia, providing critical links for Australians to return home.

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Virgin Australia has made this announcement:

• Virgin Australia has announced four additional Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft will join its fleet with delivery starting in the second half of 2023, increasing capacity in line with the airline’s fleet growth program and journey towards Net Zero.
• Virgin Australia has secured priority access to a Boeing 737NG full-flight simulator in Perth which will deliver a 25 per cent increase in domestic training capacity for more than 200 pilots based in Western Australia who are retraining on the aircraft type as the airline continues its growth of Boeing 737 aircraft.
• Simulator access will be available as soon as April 2023 through a long-term partnership with global aviation training provider CAE.
• With the airline relaunching less than two years ago, Virgin Australia has marked another major milestone this week, celebrating growing its workforce to over 7,000 team members.

Virgin Australia Group has announced four additional Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft and priority access to a Boeing 737NG full-flight simulator that will be deployed in Jandakot, near Perth, as part of a long-term partnership with global aviation training provider CAE.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which are in addition to another four MAX 8 aircraft announced in April 2022, will reduce emissions by 15 per cent per flight* and play an important part in Virgin Australia’s Net Zero journey. These additional aircraft support capacity increases in-line with Virgin Australia’s broader growth strategy bringing total Boeing 737 fleet to 92 (consisting of 737-700s, 737-800s and Boeing MAX 8s) an increase of nearly 60 per cent since relaunching in November 2020. First delivery of the additional Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft is expected in 2023.

Virgin Australia aircraft photo Gallery:

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Virgin Australia has made this announcement:

• Virgin Australia has launched its first customer innovation, the Middle Seat Lottery, since yesterday announcing the airline’s new brand and advertising platform, Bring on Wonderful.
• To celebrate the launch at Melbourne Airport this morning, Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka surprised all guests who were seated in middle seats on a flight to Adelaide with over $350,000 USD worth of FREE Virgin Voyages cruises.
• The Middle Seat Lottery follows a 24-month transformation of the airline which returns Virgin Australia to profitability.
• The Middle Seat Lottery will run until 23 April 2023, transforming middle seats on the airline’s domestic flights from the least favourite to the most fun and wonderful. Guests who sit in the middle seat will have a chance to win one of the extraordinary prizes on offer, with a new prize and winner every week.1
• To mark this significant milestone, Virgin Australia has dropped over 800,000 airfares from as low as $55~ one-way (Economy Lite) from Sydney to Byron in the airline’s Bring on Wonderful sale.

Virgin Australia has aunched its first customer innovation, the Middle Seat Lottery, since yesterday announcing a new brand and advertising campaign, Bring on Wonderful, following a 24-month transformation journey which returns the airline to profitability.

Bring on Wonderful sets a foundation to elevate every part of the customer journey when flying with Virgin Australia, starting with the middle seat which has been a bug bear for travellers since the dawn of aviation.

The Middle Seat Lottery literally turns Virgin Australia middle seats into wonderful lottery tickets.¹The middle seat, which has always struggled for popularity, will be transformed into the luckiest seat on the plane with more than $230,000 worth of prizes up for grabs throughout the competition, for guests who either select or who are assigned a middle seat when flying with Virgin Australia until Sunday 23 April 2023.

Through a social media survey in May 2022, Virgin Australia discovered that travellers are least likely to choose the middle seat, with less than 1 per cent intentionally selecting the middle seat as their first seat preference*.

As at May 2022, 62 per cent of Velocity Frequent Flyer members who nominated their seat preference favoured the aisle, 35 per cent the window and just 3 per cent nominating “any seat”**.

For each week of the competition, one winner will be randomly selected from guests who enter the Middle Seat Lottery, winning one of 26 unique and wonderful prizes. Prizes up-for-grabs include:

• Platinum Velocity Frequent Flyer Status plus one million Points.
• A cruise in the Caribbean with Virgin Voyages, including return Premium Economy flights to the USA with United Airlines.
• Flights and tickets to your AFL team’s away games in 2023.
• Flights to Melbourne plus entry to the AFL ‘Before the Bounce’ pre-game lunch, AFL Grand Final seats, a pre-game boundary line experience, merchandise and entry to the AFL Grand Final after party.
• A helicopter pub crawl extravaganza, including return flights to Darwin.
• Cairns adventure package including accommodation, return flights, and a range of thrilling adventures – Bungy jumping, giant swinging, river rafting or tubing in the great Barron River.

The full prize list can be viewed here.

How to enter the Middle Seat Lottery in three easy steps

1. Be a Velocity Frequent Flyer member, aged 18 years or older;
2. Fly in any middle seat on a Virgin Australia-operated domestic flight by Sunday 23 April 2023;
3. Open the Virgin Australia app and tap the Middle Seat Lottery tile to find your flight and enter your details. Entrants must enter the competition within 48 hours of their flight’s scheduled departure time.

Winners will be contacted via email after each week’s draw. Those who aren’t already Velocity Frequent Flyer members can join for free, here.

To celebrate the launch of the Middle Seat Lottery, Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka surprised an entire flight of unsuspecting travellers flying on VA219 from Melbourne to Adelaide today (Monday 24/10), with each guest seated in a middle seat receiving a Virgin Voyages sailing valued at up to $5,999 USD (total value given away today is USD $350,000+). Virgin Australia ensured no one went home empty-handed, offering each aisle and window seat passenger 10,000 Velocity Points.

Virgin Australia 24-month major transformation 

Bring on Wonderful comes as Virgin Australia continues its ongoing business transformation, which returns the airline to profitability this financial year. To date, the transformation journey has consisted of hundreds of projects since Virgin Australia was relaunched in November 2020. The transformation program has enabled the airline to increase its fleet size by over 60 per cent, as well as hire thousands of new team members, refresh its catering offering, reimagine its brand and customer experience to provide more value and choice, forge significant partnerships, restructure its costs to enable great value airfares, commit to target net zero emissions by 2050 and more.

Transformation highlights and results since November 2020:

• Since November 2020, Virgin Australia has restructured its cost base and completely transformed the commercial function of the airline, removing over $300 million in annual costs;
• 2,000+ new team members hired, including all previously stood down team members given the opportunity to re-join the business;
• Airfare pricing restructured, resulting in better value Economy and Business Class airfares with some of Virgin Australia’s domestic Economy fares up to 30 per cent better value than the airline’s nearest competitor and Business Class fares almost 60 per cent better value than the same competitor^;
• Committed to a net-zero emissions target by 2050 as part of ongoing efforts towards more sustainable flying;
• Simplified the airline’s business model to largely include a single Boeing 737 fleet type which has allowed Virgin Australia to grow its fleet size by more than 60 per cent. The simplification also included the restructure of a Boeing 737 MAX-10 aircraft order, as well as the order of eight MAX-8 aircraft, anchoring the airline’s sustainable pathway to 2050;
• Launched a host of significant customer improvements, including the re-opening of domestic Lounges, onboard Wi-Fi, new menus, including a reverse kids’ meal where children can eat the dessert first, and partnerships with 7-Eleven, Boost Juice, Betty’s Burgers, Myer and P.E Nation;
• Restarted international flying to Bali and Fiji, with additional international destinations to come (Queenstown in November 2022, and Vanuatu and Samoa in March 2023);
• Worked to improve integration of Velocity Frequent Flyer with the Virgin Australia business, with the Velocity membership base set to hit 11 million members by year’s end;
• Launched Virgin Australia Business Flyer to provide greater value and rewards to Australian small and medium sized businesses. Thousands of businesses have since joined the program;
• Transformed the airline’s Digital and IT systems, including a $300 million investment in new technology and website upgrades, resulting in a 70+ per cent increase in direct bookings via virginaustralia.com;
• Implemented a paid marketing search and performance strategy, resulting in Virgin Australia moving to the number-one ranked Australian travel company on Google;
• Restructured the discount airfare model for corporate travellers, resulting in the recontracting of over 450 large corporate accounts who now receive greater value airfares when they fly;
• Launched new partnerships with United Airlines and Qatar Airways, growing total international network reach to over 500 destinations around the globe.
• Achieved significant improvements in operations with on time performance stable and cancellation rates back to pre-pandemic levels.

Top Copyright Photo: Virgin Australia Airlines Boeing 737-8FE WL N341CG (VH-VUI) (msn 34441) HNL (Ivan K. Nishimura). Image: 956951.

Virgin Australia aircraft photo gallery:

Virgin Australia has capped off a huge year, announcing a new international route with a daily return Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) service taking off on June 28, 2023. The highly anticipated route, operating for the first time, is being launched in partnership with the Queensland Government and Cairns Airport through the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund.

To further bolster flight access between Australia and Japan, Virgin Australia will strengthen its strategic partnership with All Nippon Airways (ANA), the largest airline in Japan and a trusted and long-standing Japanese carrier, creating greater value and choice for the airline’s customers.

The partnership will not only see Virgin Australia and ANA provide members of the airline’s Velocity and ANA Mileage Club frequent flyer programs reciprocal loyalty benefits throughout 2023 and beyond when travelling on each carrier, but greater codeshare flight access between the countries.

Virgin Australia plans to operate the route using new Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 aircraft.

This announcement wraps up an extraordinary year for Virgin Australia which returned to profitability following completion of the first stage of the airline’s transformation program and recently celebrated Velocity’s 11-million member milestone. Since international borders re-opened 12 months ago, the airline has resumed flights to Bali, Fiji, and Queenstown, with Vanuatu, Samoa and Tokyo commencing in the first half of 2023. Today the airline also celebrates the first flight from Adelaide to Bali departing at 5:50pm local time, with plans to commence Australia’s first ever Gold Coast to Bali service on 29 March 2023.

*Subject to regulatory approval.

Virgin Australia aircraft photo gallery:

• Virgin Australia has marked a major milestone in its fleet growth and renewal program, taking delivery of its first new, fuel-efficient 737-8 aircraft in Seattle today.   
• New MAX family aircraft are all fitted out with next generation seats which include device holders and in-seat power, and are 40 per cent quieter and at least 15 per cent more fuel efficient per flight compared to the 737-800 NG fleet.
• A specialist Virgin Australia flight crew, who are experienced in taking delivery of new aircraft, will ferry the aircraft nearly 12,000 kilometres from Seattle, Washington, to the airline’s hometown of Brisbane.
• It comes on the same day as Virgin Australia’s inaugural Cairns-Tokyo (Haneda) service which will operate on the 737-8 aircraft from the end of July.
• VH-8IA or “Monkey Mia” is one of 33 MAX family aircraft that will join the Virgin Australia fleet in the next five years, delivering an elevated customer experience while supporting sustainability related targets.

Virgin Australia has marked a major milestone in its ongoing transformation, taking delivery of its first new aircraft in the latest generation Boeing 737 MAX family.

The 737-8 aircraft, which offers a quieter and more comfortable flying experience, is the first of 33 MAX family aircraft Virgin Australia will take delivery of over the next five years, after the airline restructured its aircraft order in December 2020.

Copyright Photo: VH-81A (msn 65045) is pictured at Boeing Field prior to the official handover. (Joe G. Walker)

The aircraft joins the Virgin Australia fleet under lease from leading global aircraft lessor China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC).

In addition to eight 737-8s, Virgin Australia has 25 x 737-10s on order for delivery starting from next year.

Virgin Australia Airlines today (July 10) started Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 operations with VH-8IA on the Brisbane-Melbourne-Sydney-Brisbane route.

Fresh from the Boeing factory in Seattle and featuring that new plane smell, the Boeing 737-8 aircraft marks an exciting new milestone in the transformation of Virgin Australia with its fleet renewal program well underway as the airline continues to work towards its net zero emissions target by 2050.

The aircraft is one of 33 fuel-efficient Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft Virgin Australia has on order, with more fuel-efficient aircraft set to be delivered in the coming months (Refer Notes to Editor).*With the arrival of the Boeing 737-8, Virgin Australia has also revealed its highly anticipated new Business Class and Economy cabin interior as well as confirming plans to refresh the interior cabins on the airline’s remaining Boeing fleet, as part of an investment of approximately $110 million to improve the flying experience for customers.Highlight features of the new Boeing 737-8 cabin interior include:

• In-seat power for all Business Class and Economy seats.
• Larger overhead lockers, with capacity to stow up to 50 per cent more carry-on baggage (individual guest carry-on luggage limits will not increase).**

• Wider Business Class seats which also feature leg rests with extendable footrests, storage compartments, tablet/device holders and water bottle holders.

• A new Economy seat design, featuring a ribbed backing to elevate comfort and ergonomics.

• A personal tablet/device holder for all Economy seats, making it easy to view Virgin Australia in-flight entertainment, movies and TV shows.

The interior refresh and product upgrade across Virgin Australia’s remaining Boeing fleet will commence later this year, with the work set to be complete in the next two years, subject to operational requirements. The upgrade includes:

• Installation of in-seat power for all Business Class and Economy seats.
• Installation of new Business Class seats, consistent with the new Boeing 737-8 aircraft.
• Installation of new or refreshed Economy seats, with seat design to be consistent with the new Boeing 737-8 aircraft.
• Introduction of in-flight Wi-Fi and complimentary in-flight entertainment (via a guest’s own personal device) to majority of remaining fleet.

An entirely new seat configuration will also be rolled out through the introduction of a new design cabin divider between Business Class and Economy. The new divider will allow for greater floor space in the Economy cabin and the subsequent installation of between six and 12 additional Economy seats. The refurbishment will also include the replacement of one Economy X row with Economy seating on all Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Once the cabin refresh program is complete, the unified in-flight offering will deliver more seats for travellers and a consistent guest experience across all flights operated by Virgin Australia Boeing 737 aircraft.  

Virgin Australia will add the following fuel-efficient* Boeing aircraft to its fleet:

• Eight Boeing 737-8 aircraft (one aircraft delivered in June 2023, 7 to be delivered by Q1 2024)
• 25 Boeing 737-10 aircraft (planned delivery from late 2024)

Virgin Australia Boeing 737 seat capacity once cabin refresh is complete:

• Boeing 737-800 and 737-8 aircraft (31 rows, 8 Business Class seats, 174 Economy seats)
• Boeing 737-700 aircraft (23 rows, 8 Business Class seats, 126 Economy seats). This includes the introduction of a Business Class cabin on 7 existing Boeing 737-700 aircraft which are currently fitted with Economy seating only.

FOOT NOTES* Boeing 737-8 aircraft are at least 15 percent more fuel efficient per flight when compared to the Virgin Australia Boeing 737-800 NG fleet.**Carry-on luggage limits for each passenger will remain the same. These can be found here.***Virgin Australia relaunched in November 2020 with 58 aircraft. With the addition of the latest Boeing 737-8, there are now 85 aircraft in the airline’s fleet.#Virgin Australia carried 17.7 million customers domestically in FY19.

Video:

The name of Virgin Australia’s newest airplane and first-ever 737-8 has taken inspiration from the sea.“Monkey Mia,” (pronounced “Monkey Maya”) registered VH-8IA, is named after the seaside location in the Shark Bay region of Western Australia, which became the state’s first World Heritage-listed site in 1991. Famous for the wild dolphins in the area, Monkey Mia’s red dunes and white sandy beaches make it a popular tourist destination.The airplane is currently flying the fifth-longest non-stop route operated by the 737 MAX from Cairns to Tokyo (Haneda) and is the first of 33 737 MAX family aircraft Virgin Australia will take delivery of over the next five years. 

The 737-8, delivered from Boeing’s Seattle Delivery Center on June 28, follows Virgin Australia’s tradition of naming their airplanes after Australian bodies of water. Names of other airplanes already in operation include “Cable Beach,” “Cottesloe Beach,” and “Bondi Beach.”Previously, when the airline was known as Virgin Blue, aircraft names incorporated female names and words connected with Australian cities and localities, including “Brissie Lizzie,” “Sassy Sydney,” and “Mackay-be Diva.”Flying into Australia, “Monkey Mia” was officially welcomed into the airline’s fleet in July, in front of 2,000 team members and their families at the company’s Brisbane Hangar. 

SMBC Aviation Capital has announced the sale of one Boeing 737-800 aircraft on lease to Virgin Australia to Aergo Capital.

Aergo has acquired the aircraft (MSN 40698), from SMBC Aviation Capital acting on behalf of a Japanese seller, with a lease attached to Virgin Australia.