Virgin Australia gives Aussies $230,000 reason to choose a middle seat

Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka surprised middle-seat passengers on a flight to Adelaide with free Virgin Voyages cruise tickets. (Source: Supplied) (Supplied)

Virgin Australia is changing people's opinions about flying in the middle seat. Let's face it, that position has been a bugbear for travellers since the dawn of aviation.

According to new research by Virgin Australia, less than 1 per cent of passengers intentionally select the middle seat as their first seat preference. Sixty-two per cent of Velocity Frequent Flyer members prefer the aisle, while 35 per cent opt for the window, and just 3 per cent nominated "any seat".

However, this week, Virgin Australia surprised those in the middle seats on a flight from Melbourne to Adelaide by giving every one of them a prize for sitting in the historically unpopular position.

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Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka personally presented each of the passengers seated in the middle of the row with free Virgin Voyages cruises, costing the company more than $500,000.

Virgin Australia has launched a Middle Seat Lottery that could turn the hated seat position into a popular choice. (Source: Supplied)

The airline also ensured no one went home empty handed, offering each aisle and window seat passenger 10,000 Velocity Points to celebrate the launch of their new campaign.

Middle Seat Lottery

Guests who sit in the middle seat on Virgin Australia flights between now and April 23, 2023 will also have a chance to win a cruise or other prize in the Middle Seat Lottery, with a new winner announced every week.

With more than $230,000 worth of prizes up for grabs throughout the competition, the middle seat will be transformed into the luckiest - and possibly most desirable - seat on the plane.

Unsuspecting passengers onboard a Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne were thrilled with their unexpected windfalls. (Source: Supplied) (Supplied)

Prizes include:

• Platinum Velocity Frequent Flyer Status plus 1,000,000 Points.

• A cruise in the Caribbean with Virgin Voyages, including return Premium Economy flights to the USA with United Airlines.

• Flights and tickets to your AFL team's away games in 2023.

• Flights to Melbourne plus AFL grand final seats, entry to the AFL Before the Bounce pre-game lunch, a pre-game boundary line experience, merchandise and entry to the AFL grand final after party.

• A helicopter pub crawl extravaganza, including return flights to Darwin.

• Cairns adventure package including accommodation, return flights, and a range of adventures - bungy jumping, giant swinging, river rafting or tubing in the great Barron River.

View full prize details here.

New brand campaign

The Middle Seat Lottery is part of Virgin Australia's new brand campaign, Bring on Wonderful, which follows a 24-month transformation of the airline - during which it returned to profitability.

"Virgin Australia is an airline that’s doing things differently and we are having a lot of fun coming up with exciting new innovations to make every part of the travel experience more wonderful," Hrdlicka said.

"This year alone, we have launched new partnerships with Betty's Burgers, Boost Juice, Myer and P.E Nation, along with Qatar Airways and United Airlines and now we're giving our loyal guests the opportunity to win from a prize pool valued at over $230,000 for simply sitting in a middle seat.

"Virgin Australia was born from innovation and this is just another chapter in our story," she added.

How to enter the Middle Seat Lottery

1. Be a Velocity Frequent Flyer member, aged 18 years or older

2. Fly in any middle seat on a Virgin Australia-operated domestic flight by Sunday April 23, 2023

3. Open the Virgin Australia app and tap the Middle Seat Lottery tile to find your flight and enter your details. Entrants must enter the competition within 48 hours of their flight's scheduled departure time.

Winners will be contacted via email after each week's draw. Those who aren't already Velocity Frequent Flyer members can join free, here.

Cheap flights

To coincide with the new brand campaign, Virgin Australia has launched the Bring on Wonderful sale, offering more than 800,000 cheap airfares from as low as $55 one way.

The fares are on sale until 11:59pm AEST on Sunday October 31, 2022 unless sold out prior.

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