Virgin Atlantic Airways launches Australian agent website with major incentives for users

Virgin Atlantic Airways today launched VS Vine, a comprehensive new website designed to increase awareness of the airline among Australia's travel agents, as it pursues plans to fly to there.

The new website - www.vsvine.com.au - features details about Virgin Atlantic's unique product, its fares and special offers and its differentiation from other carriers, and offers a range of unique and exciting incentives and competitions to encourage ongoing use by agents.

Its main launch promotion, "Start Your Own Royal Family", will see a lucky travel agent and companion win a trip to London - Virgin Atlantic style. In addition to flying Virgin Atlantic, the winners also will experience a long list of extras from other Virgin companies during their stay in the UK. These include limousines to and from Heathrow Airport, VIP access to Sir Richard Branson's Private Club, dinner in the exclusive Babylon Restaurant, Virgin Active gym membership, a limo bike tour of London, and much more.

VS Vine also highlights the airline's very different approach to selling itself, highlighting products such as the in-flight massage and the stand-up bar in the Upper Class cabin of Virgin Atlantic aircraft, and the carrier's newly-launched premium product.

"Virgin Atlantic is a very different type of airline to any other," said Ms Gia Acitelli, the airline's Sales and Marketing Manager for Australia and New Zealand.

"We are a premium international airline with a unique product offering, and a fun approach to promoting ourselves," said Ms Acitelli. "We are very different to our sister company Virgin Blue, which operates value-based flights within Australia, and our new website is designed in part to emphasise this difference."

Until now, Virgin Atlantic has used a quarterly brochure - also called Vine - to communicate with Australia's travel agents, highlighting product updates, information about the airline and other Virgin companies, and profiles of Virgin Atlantic employees in Australia.

"Our new website takes this concept direct to computer screens of travel consultants around Australia, providing an easy-to-use and frequently-updated source of information on Virgin Atlantic," said Ms Acitelli.