Virgin’s ATR era arrives

The Brisbane-Gladstone service is a new route for Virgin Australia and will compete with QantasLink (Strategic Airlines has pulled off the route). While the Sydney-Port Macquarie service will also compete with QantasLink Dash 8s, no other airline currently operates between Port Macquarie and Brisbane.

The ATRs will be operated on Virgin’s behalf by Skywest, which took delivery of the first 66-seat ATR 72 it will operate for Virgin Australia – VH‑FVH – at ATR’s Toulouse facility on August 11.

Leasing company (and Skywest associate company) Avation has four ATR 72-500s and four ATR 72-600s on order which Skywest will operate for Virgin Australia, with the remaining ATR 72-500s to be handed over this year, and the ATR 72-600s due for delivery in 2012, while options are held on a further five -600s.

“The introduction and entry into service of the ATR 72 in Australia is an important milestone for ATR,” Filippo Bagnato, chief executive officer of ATR, said. “While contributing to the further expansion of regional air connectivity in Australia, these new ATRs will also play a key role in feeding traffic to Virgin Australia’s domestic and international operations, and will offer the highest standard of comfort for passengers. ” “We are proud to be contributing to the expansion of Virgin Australia and the growth of regional aviation across the country,” said Jeff Chatfield, executive chairman of both Avation and Skywest Airlines.

“ATRs have proven themselves in tough environments featuring unrivalled performances, leading edge comfort and an unmatched reliability. These are the right aircraft for our passengers and our airline, and a great asset for our leasing company, Avation PLC. ” After its handover, VH‑FVH ferried into Brisbane in mid August via Trabzon in Turkey, Al Ain in the UAE, Nagpor in India, Penang in Malaysia, and West Timor.

Meanwhile, Virgin Australia has relaunched its Canberra- Sydney flight schedule under the new ‘Capital Connect’ branding, as the airline plans to introduce its ATR 72s to the route, supplementing E-Jet services.

In a first for Virgin Australia, all passengers flying on Capital Connect will be offered complimentary snacks and drinks during the flight. In addition, complimentary wine and beer will be served on flights after 4pm, as well as newspapers on flights before 12 noon each day.

“This complimentary inflight service is unique to this route and is part of our overall brand repositioning which includes introduction of the new Virgin Australia business class, newly renovated lounges, and range of flexible fares,” Virgin Australia group executive product and guest services, Martin Daley said.

“From today [August 15], Capital Connect guests will have the choice from a three category menu, with high quality gourmet snacks, that has been introduced as part of the airline’s enhanced inflight product offering,” he added. n