Virgin Australia Will Increase Regional Network with a Link Airways Partnership Deal

Regional Australians will benefit from a new codeshare partnership with Link Airways, which will increase Virgin Australia’s footprint in regional Australia by about 45%.

The partnership will bring seventeen additional regional codeshare routes that Link Airways operates to Virgin Australia’s domestic network, totalling 90 weekly flights. The flights are already on sale through Virgin Australia’s travel agency partners and will be available for booking directly on the Virgin Australia website in March.

The partnership will also provide additional benefits to Velocity Frequent Flyer’s almost 12 million members, who can now earn both Points and Status Credits on Virgin Australia codeshare routes operated by Link Airways to some of the country’s most important regional centres.

Velocity Platinum, Gold, and Silver members will earn bonus points and an extra luggage allowance when flying on any Virgin Australia codeshare route operated by Link Airways. Eligible Velocity members can use Virgin Australia lounges while flying on these codeshare services.

For the first time, Virgin Australia customers may travel seamlessly to 42 Australian destinations on a single ticket (through check-in and baggage transfer), including destinations such as Inverell, Wollongong, and Biloela, which are not served by other major airlines.

New regional routes available as Virgin Australia codeshare (in both directions):

• Brisbane <> Coffs Harbour (BNE-CFS)
• Brisbane <> Bundaberg (BNE-BDB)
• Brisbane <> Biloela (BNE-ZBL)
• Brisbane <> Inverell (BNE-IVR)
• Brisbane <> Narrabri (BNE-NAA)
• Brisbane <> Dubbo (BNE-DBO)
• Brisbane <> Orange (BNE-OAG)
• Brisbane <> Tamworth (BNE-TMW)
• Brisbane <> Armidale (BNE-ARM)
• Brisbane <> Wollongong (BNE-WOL)
• Sydney <> Narrabri (SYD-NAA)
• Sydney <> Inverell (BNE-IVR)
• Melbourne <> Dubbo (MEL-DBO)
• Melbourne <> Orange (MEL-OAG)
• Melbourne <> Wollongong (MEL-WOL)
• Canberra <> Hobart (CBR-HBA)
• Canberra <> Newcastle (CBR-NTL)

Alistair Hartley, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at Virgin Australia said: “The announcement of a partnership with Link Airways underscores our commitment to delivering great value, flexibility, and choice to Australians while also improving connections for customers living in regional Australia.”

“Importantly, the partnership is also set to support regional trade and tourism in destinations like Inverell, Wollongong, and Biloela, which are not currently serviced by any other major airline”.

“Together, our networks will be operating up to 365 daily flights across Australia, offering 42 domestic destinations for guests to explore, all while ensuring guests can enjoy seamless connectivity and loyalty benefits under our award-winning Velocity Frequent Flyer programme when they travel.”

Link Airways Chief Executive Officer Andrew Major said: “Link Airways is very pleased to join Virgin Australia in announcing this code-share agreement, which will provide significant additional travel opportunities to passengers Australia-wide, particularly those in regional areas. Thanks to Virgin Australia’s expansive route network, benefits will include better connectivity and more choice for regional customers.”