Virgin Australia has launched its first international services since the carrier was acquired by Bain Capital last year. The airline went into voluntary administration in April 2020 following the onset of Covid-19, and aside from some repatriation services, the carrier has operated only domestic routes over the last 20 months.
The resumption of daily flights between Sydney and Fiji will be followed by services from Melbourne and Brisbane to the South Pacific island, and additional international routes to Bali and Queenstown in the new year.
“Australians love Fiji and Virgin Australia is getting travellers there at a great value,” said Virgin Australia’s CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.
“Prior to the pandemic, Virgin Australia held the highest market share of any other Australian carrier for services operated to Fiji and we aim to continue being very competitive.
“We also know how important it is to our guests that we have a comprehensive network of flights operated by Virgin Australia and our partner airlines, so they can explore the world and build their businesses.”
To coincide with the resumption of international flights, the carrier has also revamped its business and economy inflight menus, with dishes including chicken tagine and burrito power bowls for premium customers, and new daily “secret fresh food specials” available for economy passengers via the buy-on-board menu.
Virgin Australia also said that a recent customer survey had led to it “doubling the amount of sparkling wine” available to business class customers.
Commenting on the news Virgin Australia’s chief customer and digital officer, Paul Jones, said:
“As we ramp up our services for the summer holiday period, we’re bringing a lot of fun and energy to our new menu, as part of our commitment to creating great customer experiences. “Our new and fresh Business Class menu really speaks to the season, and we’ve put a lot of time into listening to customer feedback, and then delivering on what they want through some exceptional new products.
Our customers also told us how much they loved our sparkling wine, so we’ve listened, and added more bubbles to the menu. “Our new secret Economy menu will revolutionise the buy onboard offering while providing more value and choice for customers. We’ll continually add fresh options each day from a range of items that we know our guests love – there’ll even be a pie in the sky, literally!
“We’re also showing just how contemporary we are as an airline by bringing the latest retro trend to all Virgin Australia flights, through products like Cheezels and Violet Crumbles, that brings back that nostalgic taste of Australia.
“We’re committed to providing our customers’ value at every step of their journey and our new Economy bundle optionality is a really great example of that.”
