Next month Virgin Australia will increase its number of services between Newcastle and Brisbane, adding almost 20,000 extra seats a year on the route.
Virgin Australia Chief Commercial Officer, Judith Crompton, said the airline would now operate 21 return services between Newcastle and Brisbane each week, from 21 February 2016.
“These new Virgin Australia services between Newcastle and Brisbane have been timed to suit corporate travellers,” Judith said.
“Importantly, the new morning services provide new one-stop connectivity to destinations on Virgin Australia’s international network including Fiji, Port Moresby, Port Vila and Queenstown and increased connectivity to Christchurch, Denpasar (Bali), Los Angeles and Wellington.
“The two new return services add almost 400 seats each week on our Embraer 190 aircraft.”
In a first for the airline, Virgin Australia will overnight aircraft at Newcastle Airport. The services will arrive into Newcastle at 9.30pm and depart at 7am the next morning.
“Virgin Australia’s announcement that they will start overnighting aircraft at our port is huge news for us,” Newcastle Airport CEO, Dr Peter Cock, said. “This is a strong commitment by Virgin Australia to our port and our region.”
“Of course, the real winner from this announcement is the travelling public. Our community now has greater choice for late-arriving and early-departing flights to-and from Brisbane on a number of days each week.”
“We see this announcement as the first step to providing the flights and services our community deserves and demanded more of.”
Newcastle Airport has worked closely with Virgin Australia in the past six months to establish the additional services.
Business Class guests and eligible Velocity Frequent Flyer program members can access the recently expanded Virgin Australia Brisbane Lounge.
The new services are now on sale and can be booked at www.virginaustralia.com or through a travel agent, with a special launch fare of $79 available for a limited time.