Velocity has quietly announced that the carrier surcharges applied to award flight bookings will soon increase. The new rates are effective for bookings made on or after 8 January 2020, on Virgin Australia operated flights.
The rise in fees follows the release of poor financial results for Virgin Australia and comes on the back of recent cost-cutting measures, including the removal of complimentary snacks from the domestic business class cabin.
Let’s take a look at the increases
Passengers travelling on Velocity award flights are set to be slugged increased fees on all routes, with the exception of Los Angeles. The (ex GST) carrier surcharge increases are as follows:
Domestic / Trans-Tasman: Economy class award seat carrier charges increase from $3.50 to $10, with business class rising from $5.50 to $10. Economy class passengers fare the worst here, with carrier surcharges increasing almost three times over!
International Short Haul: Economy class award seat charges increase from $25 to $35, with business class set to rise to $70, up from $50.
Hong Kong: Economy class award seat charges rise to $45, up from $35 with business class increasing from $50 to $98.
More information about the changes can be found on the Velocity website.
These price increases come almost exactly one year after carrier charges were first introduced on Virgin Australia flights, as we covered here. Could an annual carrier surcharge increase be on the cards?
It also remains to be seen if Virgin Australia will follow Qantas with an increase to the number of points required for premium award seat bookings.
Will you be impacted by these changes?
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