Virgin Australia has announced that it will offer business class flights to Mackay and open a new 260 square meter lounge at the city’s airport before the end of 2011, in a bid to lure the region’s lucrative mining and tourism markets.
“Mackay is an extremely important market for Virgin Australia,” Virgin Australia CEO and managing director John Borghetti said in a statement. “It is the gateway to many of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations and also boasts a strong mining industry which attracts business travellers.”
Featuring seating for up to 70 guests, a selection of beverages and refreshments, pay TV, free wi-fi, and computer facilities, the new Mackay lounge will directly challenge Qantas’s recently announced regional lounge at the same airport. “We are in the process of rolling out our new Business Class product across our Boeing 737 fleet. Travellers to and from Mackay will be able to experience new levels of comfort and in-flight service before the end of 2011,” Borghetti added.
Virgin currently operates 41 services each week between Sydney and Brisbane to Mackay with more than 4640 seats across the airline’s Boeing 737 and Embraer E-Jet fleets
