Virgin Australia has launched Virgin Australia Business Flyer, a new loyalty program that will allow members to earn Velocity Points for their business, in addition to Points earned as an individual.
On Tuesday (April 5, 2022), Virgin Australia announced the launch of Virgin Australia Business Flyer, a new loyalty program designed to provide unrivalled value and affordability for businesses. The program is free to join, and will allow members to ‘double-dip’ by receiving Velocity Points for their business, as well as the individual. Additionally, Business Flyer members will be able to access discounts off of published base airfares (4% discount on Flex fares and a 6% discount on Business Class fares). Two Velocity Pilot Gold memberships will also be gifted to Business Flyer members who join and spend at least $2,000 during the first three months of membership, as well as discounted lounge memberships, which are available for only $379 per year. The Virgin Australia Accelerate Program has been discontinued, and members will automatically be transitioned into the Business Flyer loyalty program.
In Tuesday’s announcement, Virgin Australia Group’s CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said,
“Great value and award-winning service is at the heart of Virgin Australia, and we’ve raised the value stakes even higher with the launch of the Virgin Australia Business Flyer rewards program. We are continuing to provide exceptional service experiences and product offerings at great value prices, and we know that’s important for small to medium-sized businesses and corporates who are emerging from the pandemic more conscious of value provided by their partners than ever before.
“Virgin Australia has always played an important role in the travel needs of small and medium sized businesses and our team has been working hard over the last 15 months to re-imagine the best way to bring value to this part of our customer base. Today’s announcement is the beginning of our journey to add even higher levels of value to this community and ensure that we fiercely compete for our fair share of our heartland customers.
“There is no other Australian airline that offers a free rewards program for businesses, lounges in every capital city, three types of domestic seating choices including Business Class, jet services to hundreds of destinations around the country, and all the bells and whistles at such an excellent value-for-money price point.
“Business Class fares are up to 60 per cent cheaper than what they were prior to the pandemic, and in an independent airfare study released in July 2021, our Economy fares were found to be up to 67 per cent cheaper. With the additional airfare discounts we are offering under the Business Flyer loyalty program, on top of Velocity Points earn for businesses, it’s going to be very hard for any business owner to look past Virgin Australia when choosing a domestic airline partner.”
Velocity Gold Members receive perks such as ‘Fly Ahead’ on selected fare types, priority check-in and boarding, extra baggage, access to Virgin Australia lounges and 75 percent more Velocity points on eligible flights. In order to retain Velocity Gold status on a rolling 12 month membership, Virgin Australia Business Flyer members simply need to fly on one eligible flight and earn at least 80 Velocity Status Credits during the first three months of membership.
Since relaunching in 2020, Virgin Australia has transformed their focus to heartland customers, including value conscious business travelers and premium leisure travelers. The carrier is growing their share of the domestic market in Australia, and plans on holding around a third of the market over time. Coinciding with the launch of Virgin Australia Business Flyer, the airline will increase frequencies between Melbourne and Sydney to 35 flights daily from the beginning of the financial year. Virgin Australia will also offer up to 20 daily flights between Sydney and Brisbane, up to 13 daily services between Brisbane and Melbourne and up to 11 daily flights on the Adelaide-Melbourne route. Transcontinental Perth routes will also be increased from April 2022. As previously announced, Virgin Australia relaunched service between Sydney and Canberra in March, with up to nine daily return services.
Source: Virgin Australia