Virgin Australia will launch non-stop flights between Perth and Hobart from September, becoming the only airline to offer a direct service between the two cities.
Running three times per week and with a flight time of around 4.5 hours each way, travellers will no longer need to connect via Sydney or Melbourne when jetting between Tasmania and Western Australia, trimming at least two hours of travel time on a return trip.
On Mondays and Wednesdays from September 17, VA594 pushes back at 11:30am in Perth ahead of a 5:55pm arrival in Hobart, while on Fridays, VA592 departs at 7:15am for a 1:40pm touchdown in Hobart.
In the other direction, VA595 takes to the skies at 6:40pm on Mondays and Wednesdays to reach Perth at 9:10pm, with VA593 airborne on Fridays at 2:20pm, landing at 4:45pm.
Flights are now listed on Virgin Australia's website although currently appear as "sold out", with fares expected to appear later today.
These schedules are tweaked slightly from October to account for Daylight Savings Time in Tasmania (which Western Australia does not observe), but departure and arrival times remain relatively similar on the same days each week.
All flights will be served by a Boeing 737 aircraft with eight reclining business class seats...
... plus five rows of Economy X extra-legroom seats.
Passengers at the pointy end, as will Velocity Platinum and Gold members and other eligible flyers, will enjoy access to Virgin Australia's lounge in Perth...
Virgin Australia's newest Perth Airport lounge, which opened in 2015.
... although Virgin Australia does not offer lounge facilities at Hobart Airport.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
23 Oct 2014
Total posts 238
Good timings, direct flights a huge plus. Well done Virgin.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Dec 2016
Total posts 30
I was just thinking about when someone was going to offer a direct service to Hobart, surprised Virgin Australia is the one
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
13 Nov 2015
Total posts 36
This is great news as a loyal Virgin flyer. I live in Launceston and wishfully hope that they will consider a weekend LST-PER service in the future. It's still easier to fly via Melbourne rather than drive down to Hobart.
On Saturday mornings, a lot of people transfer from the LST-MEL service onto the MEL-PER service and they often use the same plane and crew to go all the way. On my latest flight, about half the plane was greeted with a 'Welcome back' after the MEL transit.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1205
The Lounge situation in HBA is a disgrace. VA has been asking for space for a lounge in HBA (and TSV) for over 5 years but the airport owners seem unable to arrange this. Even more amazing is that the latest announced update for HBA still does not include space for VA to establish a lounge.
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
17 May 2018
Total posts 7
It really can't be that hard, can it? What's the real story behind VA not being provided with any space for a lounge at HBA and TSV?
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 780
Majority owner of HBA is Macquarie Bank. They're not just going to make space available unless it's on a commercial basis. I suspect VA don't want to pay for the construction of the lounge.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Aug 2017
Total posts 24
At TSV the airport is seeking to upgrade space and increadsing passenger charges. All players happy however surprise surprise Qantas resisting - doing whatever it can to maintain its lounge monopoly.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
21 Jan 2014
Total posts 320
I don’t know the situation in HBA but I know in Townsville the airport management are very lazy and just wanted to lumber the travelling public with a levy on top of every ticket price to pay for a terminal upgrade with a new VA lounge, quite bizarre really, expecting every single user of the airport to pay a levy for a new VA lounge, they could simply take some baggage handling space for a VA lounge and add on the the terminal building for the lost baggage handling space, but well done to HBA for securing a direct PER service, I hope it is well supported.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 Aug 2017
Total posts 24
The reason for the upgrade is not the Virgin lounge, however that is likely to be additional benefit.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Sep 2012
Total posts 382
I applaud VA for the initiative, and yes growth to Tassie but is this really the best use of aircraft and route planning?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 May 2013
Total posts 380
With the unprecedented growth in Tasmanian tourism and Hobart Airport growing faster than any other domestic port in the country, I'd say it is a good use of aircraft and route planning. Here's hoping for a successful launch!
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jul 2018
Total posts 6
Great to see a direct service between Western Australia and Tasmania. Lets hope that this fuels more services between the two
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Virgin Australia to launch direct Perth-Hobart flights