Virgin Australia Group ramps up international travel

Editor -
  • Virgin Australia Group announces first tranche of post-lockdown deals with seven leading international airlines for members to earn and burn points on eligible flights across the globe.
  • As well as accessing Virgin Australia’s international services, Velocity members will be able to ‘earn’ and ‘burn’ points amassed during the pandemic with Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Singapore Airlines and South African Airways starting with selected airlines and travel dates (subject to availability).
  • Virgin Australia is scheduled to resume its own international services starting with Fiji from 16 December 2021 and growing to Bali, Queenstown and other destinations, with approximately one million Reward Seats available across its domestic and international network.
  • Across November, members who transfer their reward points from selected credit card partners will receive a bonus of between 20-30 per cent more Velocity Points.^
  • This marks Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO Nick Rohrlach’s first major announcement and our new approach to leverage smart business partnerships that bring global reach and unbeatable value to customers.

Wednesday 27 October 2021: With restrictions for international travel further easing from Monday 1 November 2021, Velocity Frequent Flyer has today announced the first tranche of its post-lockdown international ‘earn and burn’ partnerships with seven leading airlines, to open up travel for members to hundreds of destinations.

By leveraging Velocity’s partnerships with leading global airlines and Virgin Australia’s own international network, the airline group is building an enviable international network, starting with:

  • Virgin Atlantic
  • Air Canada
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Etihad Airways
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways

The network of available destinations will go live in stages as restrictions ease and international travel resumes.

From 11.59pm AEDT Monday 1 November 2021, Velocity members will be able to redeem their Points for bookings on Reward Seats and earn Velocity Points and Status Credits for eligible regular fares on selected flights with Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, Hawaiian Airlines and South African Airways. Travel dates will vary for each carrier and Reward Seat and route availability is expected to grow in line with international travel demand returning to the market.

Singapore Airlines will be next to offer Velocity members Reward Seats as the airline expands its network and services to and from Australia. Meanwhile, Velocity members will continue to earn Points and Status Credits when travelling on eligible revenue bookings made with the carrier.

More partnerships and more destinations will be revealed in the coming months. In the meantime, Velocity members are encouraged to get in early to book their Reward Seats due to the limited availability on offer until partner airlines increase their network and services as travel demand returns.

Virgin Australia’s own international services are scheduled to resume with the first flight to Nadi, Fiji taking-off from Sydney on 16 December 2021. All up, Virgin Australia has approximately one million Reward Seats now available to be booked across the Virgin Australia domestic and international network, which is great news for Velocity members who are eager to travel again.

Velocity members will also continue to enjoy Status benefits on eligible regular airfares, such as Lounge access, additional baggage allowances, express immigration screening, and priority boarding, depending on the benefits offered with Virgin Australia and/or the partner airline.

To coincide with the announcement, Virgin Australia has extended its Flexible Flying policy for travel on international services operated by Virgin Australia including Reward Seat bookings made on partner airlines for travel prior to 31 December 2022.**

CEO commentary

Making his first significant announcement in his new role as Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO, Nick Rohrlach said he was excited to give members the chance to once again earn and redeem Points on international travel.

“On behalf of the whole team, I want to thank each and every one of our 10 million members for their patience as we worked around the clock to negotiate some great deals for our members with some of the world’s leading airlines,” said Mr Rohrlach.

“I am thrilled to offer customers an extended network to hundreds of destinations across the world.

“Virgin Australia will always have a strong core of its own international flights and then through Velocity will partner with leading airlines to offer an enviable network to travel-hungry Australians.

“After being grounded for so long, many of us can’t wait to reunite with family and friends and experience new places – now Velocity Points will once again make it possible.

“Virgin Australia and its airline partners are determined to offer some of the best value fares on the market as we do our part to rebuild the travel industry and the millions of jobs it supports globally.

“As we rebuild and reopen, we look forward to offering even more opportunities to earn and redeem Points for our savvy members,” he said.

Bonus Points for Velocity members who transfer by 30 November 2021

From 1 November 2021, Velocity will launch a lucrative bonus Velocity Points promotion, giving members even more reason to transfer their credit card reward points from participating partners, into the program, to book international Reward Seats or other dream rewards.

Velocity members will receive at least 20 per cent bonus Points when they transfer their credit card reward points from participating partners to Velocity by 30 November 2021, with AMEX and ANZ offering a whopping 25 and 30 per cent bonus Points, respectively.^