Travel Tourism Media

V Australia

V Australia, officially V Australia Airlines is a long haul international airline owned by Virgin Blue Holdings Limited, expected to begin flights between Australia and the United States on December 15, 2008. The airline will be headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, unlike its parent company, which is based in Brisbane, Queensland.

The airline was given permission for 10 flights a week to the US by Australian regulators on 24 July 2007. The plans were approved by US operators on February 15, 2008, due to the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA. The Australian regulatory approval is contingent on operations starting by December 2008.

Virgin Blue's chief, Brett Godfrey, predicts that the new airline will be profitable within 2 years of its first flight.

History

n early 2006 Virgin Blue announced its intention to operate up to 7 flights a week to the US using either Los Angeles International Airport or San Francisco International Airport, saying that the route was needed to make the airline as profitable as possible.

The airline has also expressed interest in flying to Japan and South Africa. Virgin Blue has recently stated that it is possible that the airline's sixth Boeing 777-300ER will be used exclusively for North Asian destinations.

Since then, Virgin Blue have applied to the United States Department of Transportation to operate services to and from Sydney Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas), and New York JFK International Airport. Permission from the DOT was given on February 15, 2008, with the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA.

Virgin Blue has placed orders with Boeing to purchase six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for use on international routes. They will lease a seventh aircraft of the same type from ILFC.

Naming competition

The name of Virgin Blue's international airline was decided in the same way that Virgin Blue's own name was found, with a public naming competition conducted in early June 2007.

On 25 June 2007, Virgin Blue released the 8 finalists of the naming competition. They were:

* Matilda Blue
* V Australia Airlines
* Australia Blue
* Virgin Pacific
* Amelia Blue
* Didgeree Blue
* Liberty Blue
* Virgin Australia

Australia Blue and Virgin Pacific were early favourites to win the competition, despite a problem with the latter, as Singapore Airlines (through their stake in Virgin Atlantic) have control over the use of the 'Virgin' name on International air routes, and have not, in the past, allowed its use (see Pacific Blue Airlines.)

On July 25, 2007, Virgin Blue announced that V Australia will be the name of the new carrier, with the runner up of the competition, Didgeree Blue, to be the name of the airline's first plane.

Service

V Australia will offer a 3-class service: Economy, Premium Economy and Business.

Their economy service will feature a 3-3-3 seating layout, with a 32 inch seat pitch. Each seat will have a 9 inch screen featuring on-demand audio and video. Premium Economy features a 38 inch seat pitch and 10.6 inch AVOD screen in a 2-4-2 configuration. Their business class will feature a 77 inch seat pitch, with seats that convert to a 6'2" lie-flat bed in a 2-3-2 configuration. Business passengers will also have access to a 12.1 inch AVOD screen, USB connectivity, and in-seat power sockets, as well as dedicated cabin service.

All classes will feature ambient mood lighting relative to the time of day or night, similar to that of sister airline Virgin America, as well as Panasonic AeroMobile technology, allowing full mobile phone and e-mail connectivity during a flight.

Destinations

V Australia's initial route will be between Sydney Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The initial service will operate daily across the Pacific with the below flight times

North America

* United States
o California
+ Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) [begins December 15]

Oceania

* Australia
o New South Wales
+ Sydney (Sydney Airport) [begins December 15]
o Queensland
+ Brisbane (Brisbane Airport) [begins March 1]

(Credit: Wikipedia)

Website

Profiles

Travel Tourism Media does not represent V Australia, however has done photography at Virgin Blue events

Articles

Hedonist heaven, Las Vegas has never been more exciting, September 28, 2008 (Credit: The Age)

Clubbing revives Las Vegas cool, September 25, 2008 (Credit: Sydney Morning Herald)

Getting there: V Australia will begin flying daily from Sydney to Los Angeles on December 15 with return fares starting from $2087. Las Vegas is a short internal flight or a five-hour drive. Phone 138 287 or see http://www.vaustralia.com.au.