Domestic airlines woo travellers with new plane seats and Wi-Fi
Domestic airlines are offering new seat designs and even free in-flight Wi-Fi as they tempt travellers to take to the sky ahead of the peak holiday season.
Domestic airlines are wooing travellers with new plane seats and Wi-Fi even as airfares remain at historic lows.
Virgin Australia has unveiled new seats in two of its Boeing 737s, featuring 40 per cent extra recline in business and self-deployable non-slip cocktail tables, and a seat back device holder in economy.
Although a row of economy seats has been taken out to accommodate the new prototype, the change will not mean extra leg room for passengers but rather a slightly larger galley for cabin crew.
In all there are eight business class seats and 162 economy, with a new horizontal rib design meant to provide extra support and comfort to passengers.
Virgin’s chief customer officer Paul Jones said they would trial the new seats over the next few months.
“Virgin Australia is committed to being a customer-led business, so once we receive feedback from our guests and crew, we’ll consider implementing elements of the new design as our fleet grows,” Mr Jones said.
At the same time rival Rex announced the rollout of in-flight Wi-Fi across its six Boeing 737s, which will return to Melbourne-Sydney and Melbourne-Canberra routes next week.
Passengers on the flights will be able to access the Wi-Fi for free until the end of November, following which those in economy will have to pay a fee.
Rex 737 services from Melbourne and Sydney to the Gold Coast were scheduled to resume on December 17.
The changes came as airlines prepared for surging demand for flights as domestic borders reopened.
New data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed airfares in November remained at historic lows, with business class fares under 50 per cent of their long term average and best discount fares at just 60 per cent of the benchmark.
The last time discount fares were that low, was in April when airlines partnered with the federal government to offer half-price tickets.
Regular economy fares were also well down on the long term average, partly due to Virgin Australia’s deliberate lowering of prices to coincide with the removal of free snacks.
New South Wales and Victoria opened to each other last week, enabling the resumption of Australia’s busiest and most lucrative air route – Sydney-Melbourne.
Queensland plans to allow visitors from those states to arrive without the need to quarantine, from December 17.
Virgin Australia unveiled its new seats on the airline’s TikTok account, in an effort to reach new audiences.
Popular with Generation Z and Millennials, the Chinese-owned TikTok social media platform has about 1 billion users worldwide, posting short-form mobile videos.
Virgin Australia chief marketing officer Libby Minogue said TikTok was a perfect fit for the airline’s “innovative and challenger” brand.
“Our followers will get to see a different side to our business,” said Ms Minogue.
“From the lifestyle of cabin crew and pilots, to behind-the-scenes glimpses into our operation, TikTok has opened a new way for us to communicate with existing and new customers, as we fly into a new era of travel.”
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