(TAN): Virgin Australia will offer booking flexibility until January 31, 2021 under a new customer policy. The airline will be the first Australian carrier to do so, it said in a statement.
Australian travellers will be able to make unlimited booking changes without incurring any change fees for reservations with travel between now and January 31, 2021.
“Whilst there is still uncertainty around border restrictions, we know that Australians want to start booking their travel and our Passenger Promise will give travellers the peace of mind they need to make a booking now. We’re hopeful that borders will reopen by Christmas and this new initiative to help get travellers on their next flight is the right step forward to rebooting the Australian tourism industry,” Virgin Australia said in a statement.
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Hawaiian Airlines recently announced doing away with change fees. Most major American airlines, including United and Delta, have also done the same.
Along with booking flexibility, Virgin Australia has taken other measures to ensure passenger safety. These include, increased social distancing measures including staggered boarding and distancing between passengers onboard where possible and, reduced onboard movement to minimize contact among the fliers. The airline is also distributing complimentary face masks and hand sanitizer kits while providing passengers the facility to scan their own boarding passes to limit contact with crew.
