BRISBANE - Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Airlines Group, has marked the airline’s success in securing a slot at Tokyo Haneda by creating the world’s largest sushi train on a baggage carousel at Brisbane airport.
Never one to miss a publicity stunt, Sir Richard was accompanied by Japanese drummers while holding giant chopsticks.
Virgin Australia has partnered with ANA to provide code sharing on the Brisbane-Tokyo route. Passengers flying onwards from Japan will be able to book through the ANA network via Tokyo, while Japanese visitors will be able to use the Virgin Australia network Down Under.
Flights, serviced by Airbus A330-200s, are expected to go on sale from next month, for flights from March 2020. The A330-200 aircraft have become available following Virgin Australia’s decision to axe Melbourne-Hong services which the airline said, had “continued to underperform in line with the political landscape”.
Qantas already operates flights from Sydney to Tokyo-Haneda, and Melbourne to Tokyo-Narita.
Last week the Australian Competitor and Consumer Commission (ACCC) granted Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic permission for authorisation to allow cooperation on services between Australia and the UK and Ireland via mutual mid points in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, as well as any future mutual connection points.