A member of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program received a surprise upgrade from Red to Gold status last week as one of Velocity’s “top points earning members”. Normally, you would need to earn 500 status credits and fly at least 4 eligible Virgin Australia sectors to upgrade to Velocity Gold status. But like most … Continued
Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program has finally confirmed that it is ending its long-standing partnership with Alitalia, a day after the former Italian flag carrier operated its last flight. Alitalia has been replaced by a new airline called ITA, which stands for Italia Trasporto Aereo. ITA will be fully owned by the Italian government … Continued
Virgin Australia has been on a new route blitz, announcing six new domestic routes over recent days and bringing forward its planned restart of flights to Fiji. New Virgin flights to Coffs Harbour Last week, Virgin announced it would resume up to double-daily flights from Sydney to Coffs Harbour from 11 November 2021, as NSW … Continued
Velocity Frequent Flyer is finally preparing to bring back reward seat redemptions on Virgin Australia international flights, as well as flights operated by partner airlines. These redemption options have been unavailable since April 2020. While this is welcome news, it’s still unclear when exactly Velocity will reopen international redemption bookings and which partner airlines will … Continued
Virgin Australia has announced another new status extension offer for many of its Velocity Frequent Flyer Silver, Gold and Platinum members. Depending on which offer they qualify for, selected Velocity members will now get to enjoy their status for an extra five or eight months. Velocity Gold and Platinum members who previously participated in last … Continued
It’s been a big week for Launceston Airport in northern Tasmania. Virgin Australia this week announced it will add a non-stop service from Launceston to Perth, running 3x weekly on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays. The seasonal route will operate from 5 November 2021 until 30 January 2022. It comes as Virgin’s inaugural Launceston-Adelaide service took off … Continued
The Italian government will shut down its terminally unprofitable flag carrier Alitalia next month, replacing it with a brand new airline. ITA, which stands for Italia Trasporto Aereo, will take over many of Alitalia’s old aircraft and routes from 15 October 2021. But, determined not to repeat the same mistakes as its predecessor, ITA will … Continued
Virgin Australia has launched its own competition for Australians who’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The “VA-X and WIN” competition is open to all Australian adults who receive both doses of a TGA-approved COVID-19 vaccine in Australia by the end of this year. There are a total of 251 prizes up for grabs. Qantas launched … Continued
Virgin Australia has reduced the number of Velocity status credits earned on its cheapest Economy Class tickets. But it has also slightly increased the status credits earned on some Business Class fares. The changes come as Virgin rebrands its fare categories. The new Virgin Australia fare families are: These are not just name changes. The … Continued
Virgin Australia will no longer offer its “Fly Ahead” benefit to Velocity Gold members from 19 November 2021, except when travelling on an Economy Flex or Business ticket. Fly Ahead has been a hugely popular Velocity Frequent Flyer benefit since the program’s inception. With Fly Ahead, Velocity Gold and Platinum members have the option to … Continued
Virgin Australia has removed checked baggage, seat selection, a range of Velocity benefits, and reduced status credits, on its cheapest Economy Class tickets. It’s part of a shake-up to its domestic fare categories. Virgin’s Economy Getaway, Elevate and Freedom fares are now gone, replaced by Lite, Choice and Flex fares. Business Saver fares have also … Continued
Gold and Platinum members of Virgin Australia’s Velocity Frequent Flyer program will no longer have access to Delta Sky Club lounges when travelling with Delta on a domestic flight from 1 September 2021. Velocity is also making changes to points earning rates with Delta Air Lines from the same date. From 1 September 2021, Velocity … Continued
