Virgin Australia today announced it has become the Official Airline of the Fremantle Football Club and the Premier Partner and Official Airline of the West Coast Eagles for the next five years. As part of the airline’s ongoing commitment to Western Australia, the airline today also unveiled a unique ‘give-back’ program designed to deepen the support between fans and the clubs. From today, Virgin Australia will give $10 back to clubs for every flight taken by Velocity Frequent Flyer members who register their club preference during the 2014 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Virgin Australia will also reward the WA fans that fly the most during the season with an exclusive seat on board a charter flight from Perth to the AFL Grand Final, including tickets to the game and accommodation. Virgin Australia Chief Commercial Officer, Judith Crompton said Western Australia was a strong focus for the airline. “Over the past two years, we have significantly expanded Virgin Australia’s presence in Western Australia with the launch of our regional operation, a new lounge and ongoing enhancements to our wide-body Airbus A330 transcontinental services. “Virgin Australia shares Western Australia’s passion for the AFL and we recognise that these clubs are cultural landmarks in the state. “We are delighted to offer this unique give-back program, allowing fans to take their support for the clubs to the next level, at no extra cost to them. We look forward to welcoming them on board all of our flights throughout the season, including our first charter flight to the Grand Final”, Ms Crompton said. Fremantle Dockers CEO Steve Rosich said the club’s new partnership with Virgin Australia was a great extension of the airline’s existing partnership with the AFL. “Our players and fans are some of the most frequent flyers in the AFL,” Rosich said. “This is a true partnership in the sense that the Fremantle Dockers will be rewarded every time our fans fly throughout the season, so we encourage our members and supporters to get on board. “We also welcome Virgin Australia as an official sponsor of the Fremantle Dockers and we look forward to a long and mutually rewarding partnership.” West Coast Eagles Chief Executive Trevor Nisbett also welcomed the partnership with Virgin Australia. “This partnership with Virgin Australia is clearly beneficial for all parties, including our members and fans,” Mr Nisbett said. “Our staff and players have been traveling with Virgin Australia for the last three years and the airline has been pro-active in getting our team to and from our playing destinations as efficiently as possible. “Virgin Australia has now extended that level of service to encourage our members and supporters to travel to away games, with the club gaining some benefit if they choose to travel with Virgin Australia. This is an exciting initiative and we look forward to building on what is an important on-going relationship.”     To be a part of the give-back program, fans simply need to sign-up to Velocity Frequent Flyer at www.velocityfrequentflyer.com/westcoasteagles or www.velocityfrequentflyer.com/fremantle. If they are already a Velocity member they can register their support for their chosen club and enter the promotion via the Specials tab under Lifestyle and Entertainment at www.velocityfrequentflyer.com. The give-back program applies to all Virgin Australia regional, domestic and international flights during the 2014 AFL season. 2014 marks Virgin Australia’s fourth year as the Official Airline of the AFL. During the 2013 AFL season, Virgin Australia flew Eagles and Fremantle players, staff and equipment more than 130,000 km around Australia and supported their fans in flying to and from games.