In addition to strengthening its partnership with ANA, with which it already code-shares within Australia, the airline will also code-share on its main international route, and will allow its frequent flyer program, Velocity, and ANA miles to be used in conjunction with each other.
The airline will offer one round-trip flight per day on a Boeing 737-8 aircraft with three classes of seating: business, Economy X with extra legroom, and economy. Tickets will be available from today for flights departing from Australia and from January for flights departing from Japan.
Virgin Australia Airlines Haneda – Cairns route (from June 28, 2023)
Flight VA78: Haneda (21:45) to Cairns (06:15), daily
Flight VA77: Cairns (13:15) to Haneda (20:00), daily
Nick Rorack, CEO of the frequent flyer program and in charge of the Japan service, explained that Cairns is a tourist destination known for the Great Barrier Reef and the world’s oldest rainforest, and that as the northern gateway to Australia, Virgin Australia has multiple daily domestic flights from Cairns to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. He explained that as the northern gateway to Australia, there are multiple daily flights from Cairns to Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, as well as one flight a day to Adelaide in the south and Perth in the west. He said that it is convenient not only for Cairns, but also for travel within Australia.
Australia has always been a popular tourist destination from Japan, and before Corona, JAL and ANA started direct flights to Melbourne and Perth in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Mr. Rolak cited the recovery of tourism needs ahead of business as the reason for choosing Cairns for the first Japan route, and the aforementioned high domestic connectivity from Cairns, while Haneda is also a very convenient location for Australians and has good domestic connections with partner ANA’s domestic flights The company also cited the fact that Australian travelers tend to stay in Japan for about a week and tour around two cities. In such cases, Haneda is an easy way to reach regional areas such as Hokkaido and Kyushu, and moreover, Haneda is convenient for regional Japanese residents to visit Cairns.
The company plans to introduce eight 737-8s in 2023 and currently has 88 aircraft in its fleet. In addition, there are plans to introduce 25 737-10s in the next year or so. Details of the aircraft cabin will be disclosed next year, and although the fare range, seat specifications, and seat-specific power supplies were not disclosed, tea, coffee, and bottled water will be provided free of charge in all classes, business class passengers will be provided with an onboard meal, and economy class passengers will be able to select and purchase meals on board. In-flight Wi-Fi will be available for a fee (free for business class passengers and Velocity Platinum members), and in-flight entertainment will include a wide range of content such as movies with Japanese subtitles.
While demand on Japan-Australia routes is expected to enter a recovery phase after the Corona disaster, Mr. Rolak explained, “We don’t want to fight with the competition, but rather work together to make the pie bigger. First of all, we need to stimulate the market.
© Source travel watch