Virgin Blue's Loyalty Program Partners with Hawaiian Airlines

Virgin Blue and Hawaiian Airlines are entering into a wide-ranging partnership in which members of Virgin Blue’s loyalty program, Velocity, will be able to earn points and redeem travel throughout Hawaiian’s flight network.

Members of the Velocity program can now use their loyalty points to travel on scheduled flights by Hawaiian Airlines to and within the USA and the Pacific, as well as having the opportunity to earn Velocity points when they purchase travel with Hawaiian.

The entry of Hawaiian Airlines into the program means Velocity now has its first North America partner, complementing foundation airline partners Virgin Atlantic and Emirates.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey said, “We are particularly pleased to welcome Hawaiian Airlines aboard and we look forward to working more closely with the Hawaiian team on mutual opportunities.

“Hawaii is one of the most desired international holiday destinations for Australian travellers, combining the laid-back lifestyle of the Pacific with the excitement of the USA, and the addition of Hawaiian Airlines will add even further value to Velocity membership.”

To launch the new partnership, Velocity is offering double points for flights between Sydney and Honolulu taken between 16 August and 31 October 2006. This means that Velocity Members can earn over 20,000 Velocity Points for a return trip to Honolulu in Economy Class.

Hawaiian Airlines flies three times weekly from Sydney to Honolulu, offering fast same-day connections to the neighbour islands of Maui, Kauai and The Big Island of Hawaii, as well as to the US mainland cities of Seattle, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Hawaiian also flies from Honolulu to the Pacific island locations of Tahiti and American Samoa.

The airline departs Sydney at 9pm each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, enabling travellers from Sydney to spend the day at work, at school or relaxing at home before checking in for the evening flight, and passengers from other states or regional NSW to make same-day connections to Hawaii.

The 10-hour flight crosses the international dateline, arriving in Honolulu at 10.35am the same day, enabling passengers to clear US Customs and be on Waikiki Beach by afternoon, or to make same day connections to neighbour islands or the US mainland.

Hawaiian Airlines operates two class Boeing 767-300ER aircraft from Sydney to Honolulu, and to the US mainland, and dual-class Boeing 717 jets on more than 100 daily flights between the Hawaiian islands.

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