Virgin Australia Inks Agreement With Link Airways.

Virgin Australia B737-800 Departing Sydney

[ Airlines ]December 6, 2021 7:00 am ET

By Mark Evans

Virgin Australia has signed an exclusive agreement with Link Airways to restart Sydney to Canberra, Australia services. Flights will commence from 30 January 2022. They will operate 53 times per week, adding up to 16,250 seats between the two cities each month.

The route — which was first paused in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic — will be operated using Link Airways’ Saab 340B+ aircraft and crew, with up to 9 flights per weekday available to be booked now on Virgin Australia’s website.

The resumption of Sydney-Canberra services will be good news for corporate, leisure and government sector customers who will now have more choice and flexibility when traveling to and from Capital Hill.

The agreement with Link Airways will extend Virgin Australia’s domestic network into markets that its’ own Boeing 737-800 aircraft cannot serve effectively. As the airline quickly ramps up capacity across domestic and short-haul international services it will continue to evaluate new destinations and opportunities to connect Australia.

“Canberra is a very important destination for Virgin Australia and we’re excited to re-launch a Sydney-Canberra service,” Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said “We’ll also continue to offer some of the best value fares in the market which are now available to be booked via our website.”

“Virgin Australia is always looking for new ways to connect Australians and today’s announcement is a really great example of how we are working strategically to benefit our customers. Our Sydney-Canberra services is the 15th new service we have added to our domestic network since September, and we are looking forward to launching many more next year,” Hrdlicka added.

Link Airways was formerly known as Corporate Air. Corporate Air is still the parent company but it rebranded in August 2020. It has bases in Canberra, Goulburn and Brisbane, operating to destinations across Australia in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania . The fleet comprises of 5 Saab 340Bs and 3 Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners.

Link Airways CEO, Andrew Major said “Link Airways are excited to work with Virgin Australia on the resumption of their services connecting Canberra and Sydney. The frequency of the services offered is a strong indication of the value Virgin Australia places in facilitating connections between Canberra and interstate destinations. As a Canberra headquartered airline, we particularly look forward to the commencement of the services in January”.

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Mark Evans

Mark has been interested in aviation since the age of eight when he first went plane spotting at Manchester Airport, England. Trips around various European airports in the following years and then to the USA as a teenager furthered his desire.

This led to Mark wanting to work in the industry and at the age of twenty one was accepted to train as an Air Traffic Controller. After training and working for several years in England, Mark moved to Bahrain in the Middle East where he worked for six years. He then moved to Sydney, Australia where he resides today after twenty years in the profession.

Mark's pursuit to see planes has seen him visit over 140 countries and territories, including places, like North Korea, Sudan and Iran. He has flown over 1,100 times, visited over 700 airports and can always be found researching his next trip.

Author

Mark Evans

Mark has been interested in aviation since the age of eight when he first went plane spotting at Manchester Airport, England. Trips around various European airports in the following years and then to the USA as a teenager furthered his desire. This led to Mark wanting to work in the industry and at the age of twenty one was accepted to train as an Air Traffic Controller. After training and working for several years in England, Mark moved to Bahrain in the Middle East where he worked for six years. He then moved to Sydney, Australia where he resides today after twenty years in the profession. Mark's pursuit to see planes has seen him visit over 140 countries and territories, including places, like North Korea, Sudan and Iran. He has flown over 1,100 times, visited over 700 airports and can always be found researching his next trip.
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