Virgin Blue launches Townsville - Sydney flights

Virgin Blue will today launch a brand new service between Townsville and Sydney.

The new direct service to Sydney will compliment Virgin Blue's existing flight schedule between Townsville and Brisbane, which offers double daily flights on weekdays as well as three flights a day on peak travel days Friday and Sunday.

Virgin Blue will almost double frequency for services in to and out of Townsville when it launches an additional Brisbane-Townsville flight in April.

Virgin Blue's Chief Executive Brett Godfrey said, "Townsville was chosen as Virgin Blue's very first regional port. It is going from strength to strength and we are excited to be adding even more capacity into this key regional centre as well as providing more choice and convenience for those who have supported Virgin Blue with such enthusiasm over the past few years."

He added, "We've been keeping a close eye on our booking trends and we identified a large number of people using our connecting service between Sydney and Townsville via Brisbane and that prompted us to provide a more convenient direct alternative for Townsville travellers."

Virgin Blue has a special "wow" fare of $129 one way on the net on offer to celebrate the new route on sale until March 14 for travel between March 11 and April 6.

Standard fares start from $149 one-way on the net (Mid-Week Mini-Fare), with a Fully Flexible fare of $399.

Newly appointed Townsville Enterprise Limited Chief Executive Glenys Schuntner said, "We are delighted to welcome this new service which certainly indicates Virgin Blue's confidence in our destination. We are looking forward to working together to develop this important sector for both the tourism and business markets."

Cath Rule, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Airports (Townsville) Pty Limited said, "Virgin Blue has always been a strong supporter of Townsville and we certainly welcome the introduction of this direct service and extra capacity on this key route."