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Just a few hours’ flight from Australia, destinations in the Pacific Islands offer some fantastic and unique holiday experiences. Conveniently, Virgin Australia flies to many Pacific Island destinations including Fiji, Vanuatu, Samoa and the Cook Islands.
Airfares to the Pacific Islands can be a little expensive, so reward flights on these routes can be a great use of Velocity points.
Award availability on Virgin Australia is typically excellent too, both in Economy and Business class. And if you can’t find award availability in Economy but happen to have Platinum Velocity status, don’t forget that you can also use your Guaranteed Reward Seat benefit to book a family holiday.
Complementing a strong trans-Tasman network from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, Virgin Australia flies to 6 Pacific Island destinations: Nadi, Port Vila, Honiara, Apia, Nuku’alofa and Rarotonga (which is served via Auckland and, seasonally, Christchurch). Here is a full overview of Virgin Australia’s trans-Tasman and Pacific Island routes:
By comparison, Qantas has a very limited Pacific Island network. Qantas flies just a few times per week, respectively, to Nadi and Noumea.
Almost every single one of Virgin’s trans-Tasman and Pacific Island routes is between 1,201 and 2,400 miles in length, meaning a Velocity Reward Seat will cost 17,800 Velocity points in Economy or 35,500 points in Business (plus taxes and charges).
A couple of exceptions are Virgin’s Melbourne-Nadi route, and flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Apia, which are just over 2,400 miles. Reward Seats on these routes cost 22,300 points in Economy or 49,500 points for Business class. The Brisbane-Port Vila route, on the other hand, happens to be under 1,200 miles so would cost just 11,800 points for an Economy Reward Seat or 23,500 points in Business.
On Pacific Island routes, Virgin Australia imposes carrier charges of $25 in Economy or $50 in Business class, each way.
As an example, a flight from Sydney to Tonga would cost 17,800 Velocity points and $116.28 in Economy class, or 35,500 points and $141.28 for Business class. This compares favourably to the standard Getaway fare price of $406.28 one-way, or $1,061.28 for paid Business class on this five-and-a-half hour flight.
Most Virgin Australia services to Pacific Island destinations utilise Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The only exception is flights to Nadi, which are occasionally operated by wide-body Airbus A330s on weekends during peak periods.
Velocity Reward Seats can be booked on the Virgin Australia website.
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