VIRGIN BLUE ANNOUNCES BRISBANE-ADELAIDE SERVICE

Adelaide will be the next destination on Virgin Blue’s radar screen, with the airline today announcing plans to launch a direct Brisbane-Adelaide service as its third route.

It follows successful negotiations with local government, tourism and airport officials who have embraced the entrance of a low fare carrier into the Adelaide market.

Virgin Blue will start with a daily morning and evening return service between Brisbane and Adelaide, commencing by February next year.

This double daily service will make Virgin Blue the leading carrier in terms of direct capacity between these two important destinations.

Chief Executive Officer, Brett Godfrey, said, “We believe Adelaide has been held back as currently it has no low fare carrier servicing South Australia. Our goal is to venture into cities which are crying out for low fares.”

Today’s commitment to bring South Australia and Queensland closer together will be followed later this year with further route announcements as Virgin Blue is currently assessing a number of cities, including regional centres.

“We see Adelaide as a fantastic opportunity to provide travellers with low fares and the chance to see more of Australia without having to re-mortgage their home. While many expect Virgin Blue to tap into existing major trunk routes, our priority is introducing flights into city pairs that are currently underserved” said Brett Godfrey.

He continued, “ People who want to fly to Queensland shouldn’t be forced to change planes at Sydney. On the other hand people who want to get low fares between Adelaide and Sydney should watch this space, as this will be the next phase in our Adelaide growth plan.”

Virgin Blue prices and schedules will be announced in November when seats for this route go on sale.

Virgin Blue currently offers flights between its home base Brisbane, to both Sydney and Melbourne.

Bookings can be made on our website at www.virginblue.com.au, or by calling Virgin Blue reservations on 136789 between the hours of 7.00am and 9.00pm Brisbane time, or through your local travel agent.