V Australia

The plans were approved by US operators on 15 February 2008, due to the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA. The Australian regulatory approval is contingent on operations starting by December 2008.
On 2 October 2008, V Australia announced the launch of service would be pushed back from 15 December 2008 to 28 February 2009 due to a strike at Boeing, which is now delaying the delivery of their first aircraft.


History


A Boeing 777-300ER in V Australia livery

In early 2006 Virgin Blue announced its intention to operate up to 7 flights a week to the US using either Los Angeles International Airport or San Francisco International Airport, saying that the route was needed to make the airline as profitable as possible.
The airline has also expressed interest in flying to Japan and South Africa possibly from October 2009.

Virgin Blue has recently stated that it is possible that the airline's sixth Boeing 777-300ER will be used exclusively for North Asian destinations.
Since then, Virgin Blue has applied to the United States Department of Transportation to operate services to and from Sydney Airport to Los Angeles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas), and New York JFK International Airport. Permission from the DOT was given on 15 February 2008, with the signing of an open skies agreement between Australia and the USA.
Virgin Blue has placed orders with Boeing to purchase six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for use on international routes. They will lease a seventh aircraft of the same type from ILFC.V Australia's first 777-300ER, registered VH-VOZ has rolled off the assembly line in Everett. Named Didgeree Blue, it was delivered to V Australia in Seattle at Boeing's headquarters on 26 January 2009, Australia Day ahead of the official handover on 6 February 2009.
Naming competition
The name of Virgin Blue's international airline was decided in the same way that Virgin Blue's own name was found, with a public naming competition conducted in early June 2007.
On 25 June 2007, Virgin Blue released the 8 finalists of the naming competition.

They were:
Matilda Blue
V Australia Airlines
Australia Blue
Virgin Pacific
Amelia Blue
Didgeree Blue
Liberty Blue
Virgin Australia
Australia Blue and Virgin Pacific were early favourites to win the competition, despite a problem with the latter, as Singapore Airlines (through their stake in Virgin Atlantic) have control over the use of the 'Virgin' name on International air routes, and have not, in the past, allowed its use (see Pacific Blue Airlines.)
On 25 July 2007, Virgin Blue announced that V Australia will be the name of the new carrier, with the runner up of the competition, Didgeree Blue, to be the name of the airline's first plane.
Service
V Australia will offer a 3-class service: Economy, Premium Economy and Business.
Their economy service will feature a 3-3-3 seating layout, with a 32 inch seat pitch. Each seat will have a 10.6 inch screen featuring on-demand audio and video.Premium Economy features a 38 inch seat pitch and 10.6 inch AVOD screen in a 2-4-2 configuration. Their business class will feature a 77 inch seat pitch, with seats that convert to a 6'2" lie-flat bed in a 2-3-2 configuration.

Business passengers will also have access to a 12.1 inch AVOD screen, USB connectivity, and in-seat power sockets, as well as dedicated cabin service. The In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system provided is the Panasonic Avionics Corporation (PAC) eX2.In flight mobile phone functionality will be integrated into the Panasonic eX2 system and provided by AeroMobile.
All classes will feature ambient mood lighting relative to the time of day or night, similar to that of sister airline Virgin America, as well as Panasonic Avionics Corporation AeroMobile technology, allowing full mobile phone and e-mail connectivity during a flight.
Destinations
V Australia's initial route will be between Sydney Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. The service will then be expanded following the start of a route between Brisbane Airport and Los Angeles International Airport and then Melbourne Airport to Los Angeles International Airport.
North America
United States
California
Los Angeles (Los Angeles International Airport)



Oceania
Australia
New South Wales
Sydney (Sydney Airport)

Queensland
Brisbane (Brisbane Airport)

Victoria
Melbourne (Melbourne Airport


V Australia will also offer codeshare services on Virgin Blue throughout their network.

Eventually V Australia passengers will be able to travel to and from New Zealand with Pacific Blue Airlines. V Australia has currently applied for approval to fly as many as five times a week between Sydney and Johannesburg, South Africa.