V Australia

Infobox_Airline
airline = V Australia

logo_size = 287px
IATA = VA
ICAO = VAU
callsign = KANGA
founded = 2007
hubs = Sydney Airport
secondary_hubs= Brisbane Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
parent = Virgin Blue Holdings Limited
company_slogan= Every day a new idea takes off
key_people = Sir Richard Branson (President, Virgin Blue)
Brett Godfrey (CEO, Virgin Blue)
Scott Swift (EGM, V Australia)
headquarters = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
lounge =
frequent_flyer= Velocity Rewards
fleet_size = 0 (6 orders, 1 lease)
destinations = 3
website = [http://www.vaustralia.com.au/ www.vaustralia.com.au]

V Australia, officially V Australia Airlines, is a long haul international airline owned by Virgin Blue Holdings Limited, expected to begin flights between Australia and the United States on February 28, 2009. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/travel/v-australia-to-take-off/2007/07/25/1185043163190.html V Australia To Begin Service 4Q 2008] ] The airline will be headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales, unlike its parent company, which is based in Brisbane, Queensland.

The airline was given permission for 10 flights a week to the US by Australian regulators on 24 July 2007. The plans were approved by US operators on February 15, 2008, due to the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA [http://business.smh.com.au/virgin-blue-signs-up-for-open-skies-to-the-us/20080215-1shv.html Virgin Blue signs up for open skies to the US] ] . The Australian regulatory approval is contingent on operations starting by December 2008.

Virgin Blue's chief, Brett Godfrey, predicts that the new airline will be profitable within 2 years of its first flight.

On October 2, 2008, V Australia announced the launch of service would be pushed back from December 15, 2008 to February 28, 2009 due to a strike at Boeing, which is now delaying the delivery of their first aircraft.

History

In early 2006 Virgin Blue announced its intention to operate up to 7 flights a week to the US using either Los Angeles International Airport or San Francisco International Airport, saying that the route was needed to make the airline as profitable as possible.

The airline has also expressed interest in flying to Japan and South Africa possibly from October 2009 [ [http://www.aviationrecord.com/news-articles.aspx?articleType=ArticleView&articleId=894 V Australia seeks South African rights > AviationRecord > News Articles ] ] . Virgin Blue has recently stated that it is possible that the airline's sixth Boeing 777-300ER will be used exclusively for North Asian destinations.

Since then, Virgin Blue has applied to the United States Department of Transportation to operate services to and from Sydney Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas), and New York JFK International Airport. Permission from the DOT was given on February 15, 2008, with the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA.

Virgin Blue has placed orders with Boeing to purchase six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for use on international routes. [ [http://boeing.com/news/releases/2007/q1/070320c_nr.html Virgin Blue Orders 7 Boeing 777-300ER Aircraft To Begin Long Haul Service] ] They will lease a seventh aircraft of the same type from ILFC. V Australia's first 777-300ER, registered VH-VGA has rolled off the assembly line in Everett. It is to be named Didgeree Blue.

Naming competition

The name of Virgin Blue's international airline was decided in the same way that Virgin Blue's own name was found, with a public naming competition conducted in early June 2007.

On 25 June, 2007, Virgin Blue released the 8 finalists Fact|date=July 2008 of the naming competition. They were:

*Matilda Blue
*V Australia Airlines
*Australia Blue
*Virgin Pacific
*Amelia Blue
*Didgeree Blue
*Liberty Blue
*Virgin Australia

Australia Blue and Virgin Pacific were early favourites to win the competition, despite a problem with the latter, as Singapore Airlines (through their stake in Virgin Atlantic) have control over the use of the 'Virgin' name on International air routes, and have not, in the past, allowed its use (see Pacific Blue Airlines.)

On July 25, 2007, Virgin Blue announced that "V Australia" will be the name of the new carrier, with the runner up of the competition, "Didgeree Blue", to be the name of the airline's first plane. [ [http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=145&ContentID=35508 Virgin Unveils New Transpacific Airline] ]

Service

V Australia will offer a 3-class service: Economy, Premium Economy and Business.

Their economy service will feature a 3-3-3 seating layout, with a 32 inch seat pitch. Each seat will have a 9 inch screen featuring on-demand audio and video. Premium Economy features a 38 inch seat pitch and 10.6 inch AVOD screen in a 2-4-2 configuration. Their business class will feature a 77 inch seat pitch, with seats that convert to a 6'2" lie-flat bed in a 2-3-2 configuration. Business passengers will also have access to a 12.1 inch AVOD screen, USB connectivity, and in-seat power sockets, as well as dedicated cabin service. [http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20080331/pdf/3189chjf1vnsmr.pdf Release to the Australian Stock Exchange - V Australia announces SYD-LAX as launch route] ]

All classes will feature ambient mood lighting relative to the time of day or night, similar to that of sister airline Virgin America, as well as Panasonic AeroMobile technology, allowing full mobile phone and e-mail connectivity during a flight.

Destinations

V Australia's initial route will be between Sydney Airport and Los Angeles International Airport [cite web | url=http://www.airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3907846/| title=V Australia - Launch Route | work=Airliners.net | date=2007-07-18 | accessdate=2008-03-29] . The initial service will operate daily across the Pacific with the below flight times. The service will then be expanded following the start of a route between Brisbane Airport and Los Angeles International Airport from March 1, 2009.

North America

*United States
**California
***Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport) [begins February 28] http://www.virginblue.com.au/AboutUs/Media/NewsandPressReleases/P_005714.htm]

Oceania

*Australia
**New South Wales
***Sydney (Sydney Airport) [begins February 28]
**Queensland
***Brisbane (Brisbane Airport) [begins March 1] [ [http://www.aviationrecord.com/search-results.aspx?articleType=ArticleView&articleId=738 V Australia announces Brisbane-LAX service > AviationRecord > Search Results ] ]

^ Arrives 2 Days Later

V Australia will also offer codeshare services on Virgin Blue throughout their network. Eventually V Australia passengers will be able to travel to and from New Zealand, and throughout the United States, due to pending interline agreements with Pacific Blue Airlines and Northwest Airlines respectively.

Future Destinations

V Australia has considered a plethora of destinations for its international services, such as Japan, Southeast Asia and more destinations in North America. V Australia has currently applied for approval to fly as many as five times a week between Sydney and Johannesburg, South Africa. [ [http://www.jaunted.com/tag/V%20Australia V Australia || Jaunted ] ]

Fleet

The V Australia fleet will consist of the following aircraft as of April 2008:

References

External links

* [http://www.vaustralia.com.au V Australia]
* [http://www.virginblue.com.au/ Virgin Blue]