20 April 2017

Virgin to fly CBR-Perth in sitting weeks from August

| Charlotte
Join the conversation
5
Virgin Australia

Virgin will offer direct flights between Canberra and Perth during Parliamentary sitting weeks from August this year, with tickets and related holiday packages for the remainder of 2017 on sale at virginaustralia.com from today.

Focused on the market for politicians, their staffers and family members, the services will run on a Boeing 737 aircraft on Thursdays and Sundays during sitting weeks.

Flights for 2018 will go on sale when the Parliamentary sitting calendar for the year is announced.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr noted on Facebook that while the service was “initially timed around federal parliament sittings” there was “capacity for further expansion in the future”.

The flights were designed to cater for “increased demand for travel to and from the nation’s capital and to encourage tourism to both cities”, according to a statement from Virgin.

Politicians will be able to choose between flying Qantas and using its Qantas Chairman’s Lounge or travelling on Virgin and enjoying access to its equivalent invitation-only private lounge, The Club. Both airlines offer the exclusive lounge services in Canberra and Perth.

In Parliamentary sitting weeks in August and September 2017, Virgin Australia will operate the following services on Thursdays and Sundays:

• VA590 will depart Perth at 1235 and arrive in Canberra at 1825
• VA589 will depart Canberra at 1900 and arrive in Perth at 2140

In sitting weeks between October 2017 and December 2017, Virgin Australia will operate the following services on:

Sundays

• VA590 will depart Perth at 1205 and arrive in Canberra at 1855
• VA589 will depart Canberra at 1930 and arrive in Perth at 2110

Thursdays

• VA590 will depart Perth at 1135 and arrive in Canberra at 1825
• VA589 will depart Canberra at 1900 and arrive in Perth at 2040

Virgin Australia also offers direct flights from Canberra to Adelaide, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney.

Join the conversation

5
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

JC said :

planeguy said :

The CBR-PER legs are fairly close to the Qantas times, and convenient for both business and leisure travel. However, the morning/midday departure from Perth for the return leg is less desirable. Would have hoped for a late afternoon departure, even if it meant a late night arrival in Canberra.

Either way, hope it catches on, and more days are added to the schedule, and pressure is put on Qantas’s fares.

All well and good except of course Virgin have stated the service has been put on to accommodate pollies and their staffers. Hence the times.

Does that mean only one class of travel will be available (business)?

planeguy said :

The CBR-PER legs are fairly close to the Qantas times, and convenient for both business and leisure travel. However, the morning/midday departure from Perth for the return leg is less desirable. Would have hoped for a late afternoon departure, even if it meant a late night arrival in Canberra.

Either way, hope it catches on, and more days are added to the schedule, and pressure is put on Qantas’s fares.

All well and good except of course Virgin have stated the service has been put on to accomodate pollies and their staffers. Hence the times.

dungfungus said :

I note these proposed direct services are based on speculative demand.

It will be interesting to see if some competition forces down prices or will we see the parallel pricing that existed with the old “two airline policy”

Pity our Territory bus service doesn’t operate on demand. Airlines won’t fly routes with empty planes so why do Action persist in running non-peak services with empty busses?

Wild guess here but reckon it might have something to do with one being a business intent on making a profit and the other being a public service.

The CBR-PER legs are fairly close to the Qantas times, and convenient for both business and leisure travel. However, the morning/midday departure from Perth for the return leg is less desirable. Would have hoped for a late afternoon departure, even if it meant a late night arrival in Canberra.

Either way, hope it catches on, and more days are added to the schedule, and pressure is put on Qantas’s fares.

I note these proposed direct services are based on speculative demand.

It will be interesting to see if some competition forces down prices or will we see the parallel pricing that existed with the old “two airline policy”

Pity our Territory bus service doesn’t operate on demand. Airlines won’t fly routes with empty planes so why do Action persist in running non-peak services with empty busses?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.