Virgin Australia Extends Middle Seat Lottery

Virgin Australia has launched a new "Middle Seat Lottery"
Virgin Australia has launched a new “Middle Seat Lottery”. Image: Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia has extended its Middle Seat Lottery promotion for another 11 weeks, giving more passengers the chance to win some great prizes.

The promotion was due to end last week, on 23 April, but will now run until 9 July 2023.

Nobody really likes sitting in the dreaded middle seat when flying. Originally launched in October 2022, Virgin Australia’s Middle Seat Lottery is a fun way to make it a little less terrible.

How the Middle Seat Lottery works

Until 9 July 2023, anyone who sits in a middle seat on a Virgin Australia domestic flight can enter a competition to win one of 37 “wonderful” weekly prizes. That’s a B or E seat in Economy on the Boeing 737.

This week’s prize, for middle seat passengers flying between Monday 24 April and Sunday 30 April 2023, is return Qatar Airways Economy flights to Europe for two people including a 5-star luxury stopover experience in Doha. Next week’s prize will be a North Queensland getaway.

Other prizes to be given away over the coming months include return flights to Vanuatu, flights to Samoa and bonus Velocity points.

You can see a list of past Middle Seat Lottery prizes and prize winners on the Virgin Australia website.

If you’re unlucky (or lucky!) to be sitting in a middle seat on a Virgin Australia flight, you’re over 18 and you live in Australia, you can enter the lottery within the Virgin Australia App up to 48 hours after your flight. You’ll be eligible regardless of whether you purposefully selected or were allocated a middle seat. But the middle seat will need to be reflected on your boarding pass.

Enter the competition within 48 hours after flying in the Virgin Australia App
Enter the competition within 48 hours after flying in the Virgin Australia App.

Only passengers who are over 18 and Velocity members are able to enter. So if you’re travelling with kids, make sure an adult selects the middle seat. 😉

See the Virgin Australia website for the full terms & conditions of this promotion.

In a social media poll conducted in May last year, Virgin Australia found that around two-thirds of passengers preferred an aisle seat. Approximately one-third had a window seat preference. Less than 1% of respondents said they would intentionally choose a middle seat.

The Middle Seat Lottery was launched as part of Virgin Australia’s “Wonderful Flying” campaign last year.

Virgin Australia Wonderful Flying campaign image
The Middle Seat Lottery is part of the airline’s new “Wonderful Flying” campaign. Photo: Virgin Australia.

Is this enough to convince you to select a middle seat?

In an AFF thread discussion, many AFF members said there would need to be a very good incentive before they would consider sitting in a middle seat by choice.

Posed with the question of what it would take to convince them to choose a middle seat, here’s what a few frequent flyers said…

Given many of my flights are transcon to/from PER, that’s a long time between people. But, for double SCs [status credits]…
exceladdict

Something like what they do on the shinkansens – make the middle seat a little wider than the window/aisle seats.
frodo

Keep the aisle and window seat free ;)😉
kpc

So, over to you… would you select a middle seat in exchange for a lottery ticket?

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: What could airlines do to convince you to choose a middle seat?

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The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 90 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.
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I can hardly contain my excitement.

Reply 6 Likes

Virgin Australia is advertising "Something Wonderful is Coming" on 23/10/2022 across their social media platforms. Could this be related to the twice-cancelled event because of cOvId?

Let the speculation begin.

1. New Livery?
2. Star Alliance?
3. New Uniforms?
4. New International (Short Haul) destinations?
5. Qatar or United stake?
6. Widebody leases?

If Etihad is anything to go by, it'll be new crockery and cushions.

On the other hand, maybe its another re-birth 🤣 !

Reply 3 Likes

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Virgin Australia is advertising "Something Wonderful is Coming" on 23/10/2022 across their social media platforms. Could this be related to the twice-cancelled event because of cOvId?

Let the speculation begin.

1. New Livery?
2. Star Alliance?
3. New Uniforms?
4. New International (Short Haul) destinations?
5. Qatar or United stake?
6. Widebody leases?

New Platinum Beyond tier?
Lifetime status?

I doubt it’s anything major but some of Jayne’s comments around international travel yesterday were interesting to say the least

Reply 2 Likes

My guess is livery to match the new logo and branding. Remember it is a hanger event so not a huge point of putting it there unless you have a plane to show.

Reply Like

Watch this space?

Note the first word of the URL. A sale of some sort seems likely.

Reply 4 Likes

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My guess is livery to match the new logo and branding. Remember it is a hanger event so not a huge point of putting it there unless you have a plane to show.

A 737 is parked in front of their hangar - been a week at least. I wonder what it will be about.

Reply Like

A 737 is parked in front of their hangar - been a week at least.

737-700?

Reply Like

737-700?

NBV was reported painted in the current livery. The 2-class -700s, VBY and VBZ are still regularly active throughout the network out of the BNE base.

Reply Like

737-700?

Yes I think it’s a -700 but definitely painted in a VA livery. A bit too far to see the rego.

Reply Like

Yes I think it’s a -700 but definitely painted in a VA livery. A bit too far to see the rego.

On a related note, the recent -700 series arrival of NBV is already on the JetPhotos database confirming the current livery.

Reply 1 Like

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