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Virgin announces new domestic sale ahead of eased border restrictions

written by Hannah Dowling | September 7, 2021

Virgin Boeing 737s in Melbourne YMML, as shot by Victor Pody
Virgin Boeing 737s in Melbourne YMML, as shot by Victor Pody

Virgin Australia has launched a new domestic airfare sale, ahead of the anticipated relaxation of state border restrictions, and the busy summer travel season.

Until midnight Friday, 10 September, customers can book their tickets for future travel dates between 6 October 2021 and 23 June 2022, under what the airline has called the ‘Anywhere But Here’ sale.

“We’re committed to providing travellers great value fares and award-winning service and our Anywhere But Here sale is a true testament of that,” said a Virgin Australia spokesperson in a statement.

“We know travellers are dreaming about their next holiday, so we’re offering these fantastic sale fares on travel dates well into next year, ready for when borders are open again.”

The airline pledged to waive fees associated with changing bookings for travel up to 28 February 2022.

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“We’ve seen many traveller’s plans impacted by domestic border restrictions and so we’re here to give them comfort when booking a Virgin Australia flight that they’ll be able to change the date of their travel if they need to.”

Under the sale, one way economy fares between Sydney and Byron Bay start from just $49, while Melbourne to Gold Coast fares begin from $89 one way.

Last month, Virgin announced the addition of 10,000 new seats across two new routes ahead of the September school holidays, which skirt the border closures that currently impact the country’s most populous states.

From September, Virgin Australia will fly direct from Adelaide to Launceston for the very first time, as well as re-introduce direct flights between Adelaide and Darwin.

Notably, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory are currently the only three states without major travel restrictions in place, and people can freely move between these states.

Under the sale, fares between Adelaide and Launceston will now be available from $79, while tickets between Adelaide and Cairns will start from $109 one way.

It comes as the airline performed its very first direct service between Adelaide and Launceston on Tuesday morning.

Earlier, following the inaugural flight under the airline’s newly introduced triweekly Adelaide-Cairns route on Thursday, Cairns Airport’s chief operating officer Garry Porter said the new service could generate an additional $25 million in tourism for far north Queensland.

In 2019, Cairns Airport welcomed more than 55,000 tourists from Adelaide, making the South Australian capital the city’s third-largest market after Melbourne and Sydney.

“We’re continuing to look at all route connections at the current time and are certainly open to direct services to Tasmania if the demand is there,” Porter said.

The airport will continue to focus on growing route services with South Australia and the Hunter Valley, expected to eventually facilitate a bubble with Tasmania.

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