AIRLINES & AIRPORTS
HAWAIIAN AND VIRGIN BLUE EXPAND COMMERCIAL PARTNERSHIP
Monday 18 February 2008: Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Blue Airlines today celebrated the first anniversary of their commercial partnership in Australia, extending joint Australia - Hawaii air fares to three new Virgin routes - Canberra-Sydney, Albury-Sydney and Port Macquarie-Sydney.
The announcement of additional points, and other initiatives, came as Hawaiian’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Dunkerley, visited Virgin Blue Chief Executive Brett Godfrey at Virgin Blue’s Brisbane head office.
"Hawaiian flies three times weekly from Sydney to Honolulu, and on to Hawaii’s neighbour islands, and nine destinations on the US mainland," said Mr Dunkerley.
"Our relationship with Virgin Blue gives us a presence and a profile in destinations throughout Australia, and enables us to offer single-ticket and one-stop service from these points to Honolulu, via Sydney," he said.
"The Virgin Blue partnership has contributed substantially to the growth of our business from Australia to Hawaii, and beyond, and we are now exploring further ways of adding value for our customers, and both airlines."
Mr Godfrey said Hawaiian’s participation in Velocity, Virgin Blue’s loyalty programme, had also been a major benefit not only for Velocity members but also for both airlines.
"Velocity members can earn and redeem points on all flights operated by Hawaiian Airlines," said Mr Godfrey.
"This year, we will provide reciprocal benefits to members of the Hawaiian Airlines loyalty programme, HawaiianMiles, enabling them to earn and redeem points on Virgin Blue flights."
"We also intend to introduce interline e-ticketing this year, enabling Hawaiian’s inbound passengers to use Hawaiian-issued E Tickets when checking in at Virgin Blue airport counters throughout Australia."
"Hawaii is one of the hottest holiday destinations for Australian travellers, combining the best of both a tropical paradise and the bustling US mainland city."
The strong Australian dollar has also assisted greatly in building Austral