AusBT Awards 2011: Best Trans-Continental Service

Best Trans-Continental Service for Australian Business Travellers: Virgin Australia

Competition on Australia’s longest direct route this year was as hot as the parched deserts which passengers fly across as they shuttle between the east and west coasts.

Virgin Australia began its Sydney-Perth service with the spacious business class cabin of its full-service Airbus A330 flights, while Qantas tried to one-up the challenger by flying international-class Boeing 747s across the continent.

In late September, Virgin Australia’s flights between Perth and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were all upgraded to business class on Boeing 737-800s, many of them new models with the slick Boeing Sky Interior design.

So, Qantas or Virgin?

The Australian Business Traveller Awards panel went back and forth on this, but in the end it came down to Virgin Australia for setting a new standard for the trans-continental business travel – with consistency of planes and cabins, great meals and in-flight service, and even limousine transfers to and from the airport.

Click here to see all winners in the Australian Business Traveller Awards 2011.

The Australian Business Traveller Awards are judged by an independent panel of business travellers and frequent flyers plus the AusBT team, and provide a uniquely Australian perspective on the best products and services for Australia's estimated 2.6 million business travellers.