V Australia becomes Virgin Australia, but no Velocity upgrades

V Australia is set to adopt the name of its parent airline Virgin Australia this month, as will the trans-Tasman Pacific Blue fleet and the single-aircraft offshoot Polynesian Blue.

Work is already underway on changing the livery of the V Australia fleet, as seen in the photo above, which was snapped last month and shows the tail and rear fuselage of this V Australia Boeing 777 was yet to get the full Virgin Australia makeover.

However, members of Virgin Australia's Velocity frequent flyer programme won't be able able to use their points for upgrades on The Airline Soon To Be Formerly Known As V Australia.

"Upgrades will only be available on eligible Virgin Australia domestic and Virgin Australia international short haul flights (formerly known as Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue)", the airline explains on its web site, not on the V Australia routes which will be officially classified as 'Virgin Australia international long haul flights'.

Virgin has also announced that from April 2012, all Australia-Los Angeles flight will arrive and depart from LAX Terminal 5, which is the same terminal used by Virgin’s US partner Delta Air Lines.

As of last month V Australia flights began arriving into LAX Terminal 5, which makes make onward Delta connections easier while also providing access to T5’s dedicated customs and immigration facilities, plus Delta’s T5 SkyClub lounge to while away the hours during your stopover.

(Australian Business Traveller used T5 on a recent trip to the US and were knocked out at how how fast the immigration process was, compared to the queues we’re used to at Tom Bradley International.)

However, V Australia flights back to Australia currently leave from T3, which necessities a bothersome change of terminals if you’re coming into LAX on a Delta flight. The move to T5 for departures as well as arrivals will greatly simplify matters for transit travellers.