Established in 2004, Virgin Australia Holdings owned the long haul V Australia airlines. Virgin Blue announced the rebranding of V Australia and Pacific Blue Australia in 2011. These services came under a single brand name called Virgin Australia. Since 2011, it is popularly known as V Australia.
Interestingly, the name of the airline was decided through a naming competition in 2007. In the same year, the airline was also given permission to operate in the USA as well after signing an agreement.
The fleet
V Australia has 5 airlines under its fleet. The airline has placed orders with Boeing for 77-300R aircraft for international routes. The first aircraft named Didgeree Blue was delivered to V Australia in Seattle in 2009. In 2010, 2 Boeing 777 orders were placed for delivery in 2012. However, in 2012, due to unprofitability on some routes the airline ceased 777-300R services to Johannesburg and Phuket. In 2011, with a partnership with Etihad Airways services were deployed from Sydney to Abu Dhabi.
Destinations
The airline flies to 5 destinations across the globe. The airline travels to Brisbane, Melbourne, Dubai, Los Angeles. The airline terminated its serves to Johannesburg, Phuket, and Nadi. After signing the codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, the airline got access to 65 more locations in the Middle East and Europe.
Business Class
V Australia has International Business Class category with a 2-3-2 configuration. The seats come with complete horizontal beds along with a personal workspace and laptop power. The business class and Velocity Gold Members only have access to the lounge area. In addition, the business class passengers can access the lounge if travelling domestically as well.
Onboard Facilities
The airline has an in-house entertainment facility named RED which comes on Panasonic eX2 system. The system comes with complete touch-screen with no additional charge to use it. The entertainment system has a wide range of movies, music, TV series and TV programs to choose from. Some interesting features like seat-to-seat chat along with flight guidance are also available.
Online booking and Check In
V Australia has several options for booking online at Musafir. The passengers can avail the services using a desktop, mobile app or online check-in portal. The web check-in opens 48 hours before departure and closes 45 minutes before. The passengers can also avail the Self-service check-in counters at the airport. These are available in Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne.