Virgin Blue and Virgin Atlantic to launch codeshare

On the eve of its launch into Australian skies, Sir Richard Branson’s International airline Virgin Atlantic has joined forces with its domestic sister carrier Virgin Blue in a dynamic code-share partnership.

The inaugural Virgin Atlantic flight from London will touch down on December 8 in Australia, the home country of Virgin Blue, which began operations in Australia in August 2000. Their arrival marks the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s service from Sydney to Hong Kong and London.

The code-share arrangement will mean a single Virgin Atlantic code for passengers flying on both airlines to, from and within Australia on the designated services. The partnership is expected to take effect by April 2005.

For travellers, it will mean smooth and hassle free domestic and international connections between the two Virgin airlines, be it for inbound tourists wanting to travel to some of Australia’s stunning destinations or Australian’s keen to experience Hong Kong and London and beyond.

Virgin Blue Public & Media Relations Manager, Amanda Bolger said, “We welcome the arrival of Virgin Atlantic into Australia with much enthusiasm and look forward to working with our sister airline. Both Virgin Blue and Virgin Atlantic have been recognised world wide as leaders in our respective markets and we are confident this new partnership will give travellers more freedom of choice in terms of value for money, outstanding service and the unique Virgin commitment to customer service.”

Virgin Atlantic Regional General Manager Sales and Marketing Manager, Gia Acitelli said, “We have witnessed the way Virgin Blue has revolutionised domestic air travel in Australia. They have brought low-cost travel to millions of Australians and firmly established the Virgin brand within the Australian aviation industry. Their success has paved the way for the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s international full service offering.”

The agreement will initially be for passengers travelling to and from London via Hong Kong to Sydney with a codeshare service operated by Virgin Blue to Brisbane, Coolangatta and Melbourne initially with plans underway to expand the agreement to other ports.

Gia Acitelli continued, “We have lobbied long and hard to bring competition to the Kangaroo route and together with Virgin Blue, we relish the opportunity to give the traditional players a run for their money and Guests more bang for their buck.”

Further code share enhancements are already in the pipeline such as an Inter-terminal passenger bus transfer between the Sydney International Airport and Sydney Domestic T2.

See other recent news from: Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Blue