Virgin Australia has resumed service to Queenstown, New Zealand from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The carrier will operate daily service to Queenstown from Sydney and Brisbane, as well as four weekly return flights between Melbourne and Queenstown.
On Wednesday (November 2, 2022), Virgin Australia announced the relaunch of service to Queenstown, New Zealand from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne for the first time in nearly 1,000 days. Return flights to Queenstown from Sydney and Brisbane will operate daily, while return flights to Queenstown from Melbourne will operate four times weekly. To celebrate the restart of services, the carrier is offering return fares to Queenstown from $409 for tickets purchased by Sunday, November 6, 2022.
In Wednesday’s announcment, Virgin Australia Group’s CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said,
“Today is a significant day for Virgin Australia with our first New Zealand flight in over two years. Australians and New Zealanders have a close bond and we are proud to be creating a new gateway between the countries for friends and family to visit each other, businesses to flourish and holiday-makers to seek adventure with more choice and great value airfares. To celebrate this wonderful milestone, we have launched 15,000 Economy sale fares from as low as $409 return until midnight this Sunday, and we encourage everyone thinking about visiting Queenstown to get in quick before the sale ends. Value, choice and great service are at the heart of Virgin Australia, and we look forward to bringing these values to Queenstown with our expanded network.
“We are proud to continue growing the Virgin Australia international network which now offers over 500 destinations around the world. We have the most exceptional international airline partners and they help us deliver the very best and most easily reached global destinations.”
Also commenting on the restart of Queenstown services, Virgin Australia Group’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Alistair Hartley, added,
“Travellers have missed the wonderful Virgin Australia hospitality and we are thrilled to be welcoming them back onboard with more choice and great value when flying to Queenstown. We are seeing strong demand across our international network over the Christmas school holiday period. Our flights to Queenstown will increase to 21 per week between 12 December and 29 January, with a daily service operating from Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, to help meet the demand. We are excited to be back on the arrivals board in Queenstown and we look forward to providing travellers more choice.”
Founded in 2000 by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Australia operates an extensive domestic network as well as international short-haul, charter and cargo services, along with their award-winning loyalty program, Velocity Frequent Flyer. The Group employs over 6,000 team members and has been a competitor in the Australian aviation landscape for the last 22 years. Virgin Australia offers three seating choices including Business Class, Economy X (extra legroom) and Economy. Since November 2020, the carrier has been incrementally increasing their Boeing 737 fleet by nearly 60 percent, from 58 to 92 airplanes, including the addition of fuel-efficient 737-8 MAX aircraft. The company will also add an additional 10 aircraft in 2023.
Source: Virgin Australia