Virgin Australia postpones “new era of flying” event for second time
It looks like we’ll have to wait even longer to hear what Virgin Australia has up its sleeve…
By David Flynn, July 20 2022
Virgin Australia’s special event “to celebrate a new era of flying” has been grounded for the second time.
The airline originally scheduled what it promised as “one of the most exciting and unique aviation events of 2022” for Friday May 27, sparking of a wave of speculation as to what the challenger had up its sleeve.
However, the invitation-only event at Virgin’s Brisbane Airport hangar was subsequently postponed “as a precautionary measure due to the rising COVID case numbers in some states and territories, coupled with a spike in flu cases.”
Virgin reset the event for Friday July 22, saying it would be “the exclusive unveiling of something truly wonderful.”
“Get your Gram ready as this is one you won’t want to miss,” the invitation teased.
But July 22 has now been crossed off the airline’s social calendar.
“Following advice from the Chief Medical Officer late yesterday afternoon, we have made the very difficult decision to again postpone our Hangar Event scheduled for this Friday,” the airline said in a statement issued this morning.
“We have a shared responsibility in protecting our people, the tourism industry and the broader community from the impacts of COVID-19 and we feel this is the right decision in the current environment.”
At the same time, the airline has been gently dialling down expectations for the event: while tipped to contain some form of ‘business announcement’, it’s also been described as thanking the airline’s staff on the back of Virgin’s transformation program which saw the carrier soar out of administration and return to Australian skies as a fresh competitor in a vastly-changed market.
And there’s no denying that Virgin Australia is flying high right now.
Fresh partnerships with United Airlines and Qatar Airways are taking wing, while Velocity Points can once again be used to book reward seats on partner airlines.
There’s a new Velocity Business Flyer scheme and elite Beyond VIP tier, with inter-city business class fares hitting hit a new level of affordability at $299; and the countdown is on for the delivery of the airline’s first Boeing 737 MAX jet in February 2023, along with the official reveal of Virgin’s next-gen domestic business and economy class.