Monday, April 5, 2010

VIRGIN BLUE AND V AUSTRALIA ANNOUNCE FREQUENT FLYER PARTNERSHIP WITH VIRGIN AMERICA

Virgin Blue Airlines and its' premium long-haul airline, V Australia announced today they have partnered with Virgin America to allow each airline's loyalty program members to earn points when taking flights on the sister-branded airlines. The partnership means that guests flying Virgin Blue, V Australia and Virgin America will all be able to earn credit for their flights that will be redeemable under either of the carrier's frequent flyer programs.

Effective from today, guests will be able to earn points on all of the carriers – and by the end of 2010, guests will be able to redeem points on any carrier*.

The reciprocal agreements enable Virgin Blue or V Australia's Velocity members to earn Velocity points; and Virgin America's Elevate members to earn Elevate points – wherever they are flying with one of the three airlines, V Australia, Virgin Blue or Virgin America**.

"The new agreement is another example of our Virgin airlines working closer together for the benefit of our Guests," said Virgin Blue Airlines Co-founder and Chief Executive Brett Godfrey.

"Our aim is to encourage more travellers from throughout the U.S. and from our part of the world to plan their trans-Pacific travel with our growing airline family."

With industry-leading guest service, beautiful design and a host of high-tech amenities, the Virgin Airlines are world renowned for outstanding customer service and product innovation.

Virgin Blue has received numerous awards in recent years, including Best National Airline three years running at the Australian National Travel Industry Awards. V Australia offers a three class trans-Pacific travel option and Virgin America offers Main Cabin, Main Cabin Select and First Class seating on its domestic U.S. service.

Virgin America has captured a list of travel industry best-in-class awards since its 2007 launch, including being named "Best Domestic Airline" in the Condé Nast Traveler 2009 Readers' Choice Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in the Travel + Leisure 2009 World's Best Awards.

Virgin America President and Chief Executive Officer David Cush commented: "Travellers around the world seek out Virgin airlines for their unrivalled value, brilliant service and innovative amenities, and we're pleased to partner with our sister airlines Virgin Blue and V Australia to allow our loyal guests to earn frequent flyer credits wherever they are flying– in the U.S., Asia Pacific or Australia."

In June 2009, the airlines signed an Australia-U.S. interline agreement offering seamless travel on the networks of each carrier across their United States (U.S.) and trans-Pacific routes. The interline arrangement allows guests to enjoy a continuous "Virgin" experience for travel between the U.S. and Australia, as Virgin America and V Australia share Los Angeles World Airport's (LAX) newly redesigned Terminal 3.

For complete details on the new loyalty program arrangements visit any one of the airlines' web sites. www.virginblue.com.au; www.vaustralia.com; www.virginamerica.com.

About Virgin America: Virgin American's Elevate frequent flyer loyalty program offers guests the ability to redeem points for any unsold seat – on any Virgin America flight, at any time. Elevate offers Web-based redemption with no black-out dates and has grown to over 1.27 million members in just two years.

Headquartered in California and launched in August 2007, Virgin America is one of the fastest growing start-up U.S. airlines of all time and currently employs over 1500 people. Virgin America offers guests attractive fares and a host of innovative features aimed at reinventing air travel. The airline's base of operations is San Francisco International Airport's modern International Terminal. The airline's new aircraft offer interactive in-flight entertainment systems and power outlets near every seat for electronic gear. Virgin America offers in-flight internet service on every flight and hosts the largest in-flight entertainment library in the U.S. skies via its touch-screen Red™ seatback system.

Virgin America has captured a list of travel industry best-in-class awards since launch, including being named "Best Domestic Airline" in the Condé Nast Traveler 2009 Readers' Choice Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in the Travel + Leisure 2009 World's Best Awards. The airline flies to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Seattle, Las Vegas, San Diego, Boston, Orange County (ending May 26), Fort Lauderdale and as of August 19, 2010 - Orlando. The airline currently offers daily flights from: SFO to LAX, SFO to JFK, SFO to SAN, SFO to IAD, SFO to LAS, LAX to JFK, LAX to IAD, SFO to SEA, SEA to LAX, JFK to LAS, BOS to LAX, BOS to SFO, SFO to SNA (ending May 26), LAX to FLL and SFO to FLL and starting August 19, 2010 – SFO to MCO and LAX to MCO.

About V Australia and Virgin Blue: Velocity Rewards is the multi-award winning loyalty program of the Virgin Blue Group of Airlines and is free to join online. Velocity rewards their Members faster, with less Points required for Reward seats compared to other Australian loyalty programs. It features any seat redemption, on any flight across the entire Group network (no blackouts, no restrictions). Velocity also has more than eight Airline Partners that provide a global network for their Members including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Delta Air Lines, Hawaiian Airlines, Virgin America and Malaysian Airlines. Plus, Members can earn Points with a wide range of on the ground Program Partners and then use those Points for rewards they really want from a beach cricket set to a brand new car. Visit www.velocityrewards.com.au

V Australia www.vaustralia.com.au is a three class boutique style airline offering the acclaimed service for which the Virgin Blue Group is renowned and a unique Australian style. The airline has two in-flight bars, mood lighting including twilight and sunset, bathrooms with piped music including a "ladies only" bathroom and other touches of Australiana from salt and pepper shakers to hidden wallpaper murals. V Australia is a part of the Virgin Blue Group of Airlines.

The Australian-based airline group also includes Virgin Blue, second largest domestic carrier in Australia www.virginblue.com.au and short haul international airlines Pacific Blue www.flypacificblue.com Polynesian Blue. Together they operate a fleet comprising of 85 modern Boeing 737-NG's, Boeing 777 and Embraer E-Jet aircraft flying to 30 Australian and 18 international destinations in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia.

*Guests can choose to earn points in the program of their choice - Elevate points or Velocity points (but not both) for their Virgin America, Virgin Blue and V Australia flights.

**Velocity Membership and Points earn and redemption is subject to Velocity Terms and Conditions as amended from time to time and available online at www.velocityrewards.com.au. The Velocity Program is operated by Velocity Rewards Pty Ltd ACN 116 089 448 as trustee of The Loyalty Trust.

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