• Virgin Australia has extended the Middle Seat Lottery until Sunday 9 July 2023, following overwhelming popularity of the competition.
• The airline will include a new prize pool worth over $45,000, with one lucky winner chosen each week of the competition from guests seated in middle seats on eligible Virgin Australia flights who enter the competition.^
• Virgin Australia has also revealed feedback from customers whose perceptions of sitting in the middle seat have changed.

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Thursday 27 April 2023: Following a record number of entries since launching in October 2022, Virgin Australia has this week extended its world-first Middle Seat Lottery competition until 9 July 2023^, with more amazing prizes up-for-grabs just for sitting in the middle seat.

Over 240,000 Virgin Australia guests have entered the competition since launching six months ago, with media coverage of the airline’s first new major customer innovation reaching all four corners of the globe.

The Middle Seat Lottery has also changed perceptions for guests who choose to be allocated, or who are assigned, a middle seat with the airline reporting positive feedback from its social media followers since the launch of the competition (refer Notes to Editors below).

The Middle Seat Lottery will now feature an additional 11 weekly prizes until Sunday 9 July 2023, valued at over $45,000^, including:

• Return flights to Tokyo with Virgin Australia and 250,000 Velocity Frequent Flyer Points.
• Return flights to Europe with Qatar Airways and an exclusive once-in-a-lifetime luxury experience in Doha for two people.
• A tropical North Queensland getaway, with the chance to swim with saltwater crocodiles for four people.
• A 3-night stay in Townsville with a waterfall and tropical island tour via helicopter and sailboat cruise.
• A curated beer tasting experience onboard a private jet, followed by a brewery tour with Straddie Brewing Co. on North Stradbroke Island.

For each week of the competition remaining, one winner will be randomly selected from guests who enter the Middle Seat Lottery, here.

Commentary

Virgin Australia Group Chief Marketing Officer, Libby Minogue said the airline is committed to making the travel experience more wonderful.

“We are laser focused on elevating the Virgin Australia travel experience at every part of the journey and the Middle Seat Lottery is a great example of that,” said Ms Minogue.

“We know the middle seat is a bug bear for travellers globally which is why the competition has been so popular. We have literally had hundreds of thousands of entries over the past six months and we are really proud to extend the competition with an additional prize pool valued at over $45,000.

“Some of our guests are intentionally choosing to sit in the middle seat and I think that speaks volumes to how successful the innovation has been,” she said.

Speaking of whether the Middle Seat Lottery will become an annual competition, Ms Minogue said “We couldn’t be happier with the feedback we are receiving from our guests in Australia, and around the world, and we look forward to sharing many more customer innovations in the future.”

Recent winner of the Middle Seat Lottery, Harrison, an adventure-seeker from Hobart, won monthly Virgin Australia flights and Lounge access for an entire year for sitting in the middle seat on a surfing trip to the Gold Coast.

Speaking of the prize, Harrison said: “Winning the Middle Seat Lottery will allow us to see more of this beautiful country and the people that live in it. Definitely move to the middle seat next time you fly.”

The middle seat has always struggled for popularity since the dawn of commercial aviation. Virgin Australia launched the Middle Seat Lottery following a survey on the airline’s social media channels in May 2022, which found that less than 1 per cent of its passengers intentionally select the middle seat as their preference when flying.*

Additionally, 62 per cent of Velocity Frequent Flyer members who nominate their seat preference favoured the aisle, 35 per cent the window and just 3 per cent “any seat”.**

The Middle Seat Lottery follows a string of new Virgin Australia customer products and partnerships announced as part of the airline’s successful transformation.

For more information, visit: https://www.virginaustralia.com/au/en/book/middle-seat-lottery/

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

How to enter

How to enter the Middle Seat Lottery in three easy steps:

1. Be a Velocity Frequent Flyer member, aged 18 years or older;
2. Fly in any middle seat on a Virgin Australia-operated domestic flight by Sunday 9 July 2023;
3. Open the Virgin Australia app and tap the Middle Seat Lottery tile to find your flight and enter your details. Entrants must enter the competition within 48 hours of their flight’s scheduled departure time.

Winners will be contacted via email after each week's draw. Those who aren't already Velocity Frequent Flyer members can join for FREE, here.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

*In a research poll undertaken in May 2022 on Virgin Australia social media channels, more than 7,500 respondents voted in favour of their preferred seat:

• Approximately 67 percent voted in favour of an aisle seat;
• Approximately 34 per cent voted in favour of a window;
• Just 0.6 per cent of respondents voted in favour of a middle seat.

**Data from nearly 700,000 Velocity Frequent Flyer members who have reported a seat preference, 62 per cent have chosen the aisle as their preferred seat, 35 per cent have chosen a window, and only 3 per cent voted “any seat”.

^Competition Terms and Conditions

The Promoter is Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd (ABN 36 090 670 965) of registered address 275 Grey St, South Brisbane QLD 4101. The Promotion commences at 12:00am AEST on 24 April 2023 and ends at 11:59pm AEST on 9 July 2023 (Promotion Period). Entry is open to Velocity members who are: (1) Australian residents, (2) aged 18 years or over and (3) Virgin Australia guests that have flown on an Eligible Flight (“Entrants”). An Eligible Flight is a domestic Virgin Australia-operated flight with a VA flight number, where the Entrant was seated in a middle seat as reflected on their boarding pass and in Virgin Australia’s internal systems. The following are not Entrants: Virgin Australia Group employees (and their immediate families), employees of agencies associated with this Promotion, and individuals travelling on Staff Travel. To enter the Promotion, Entrants must, during the Promotion Period and within 48 hours after the scheduled departure time of their Eligible Flight: (i) navigate to the Middle Seat Lottery tile within the Virgin Australia app; (ii) select an Eligible Flight shown in the Virgin Australia app or retrieve the booking for their Eligible Flight using their Virgin Australia Booking Reference and Surname; and (iii) select their name from the Eligible Flight booking, input their contact details and their valid Velocity membership number (if not pre-filled), agree to the competition terms and conditions, and submit their entry. An Entrant will receive an Entry to the Relevant Draw Period based on the scheduled departure date of their Eligible Flight. Limit of one entry per Entrant for each Eligible Flight taken by the Entrant. There will be 11 Winners (one for each Relevant Draw Period). One Winner will be drawn for each calendar week (the “Relevant Draw Period”) of the Promotion Period following the Relevant Draw Period and will be notified within 2 business days of the draw (as set out in clause 15 of the full terms and conditions).  Winners will be awarded the Prize that is assigned to their Relevant Draw Period (set out in clause 22 of the full terms and conditions). The total prize value is $45,903 AUD (including GST). The Prizes are not exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. Prizes may be subject to additional terms and conditions of Virgin Australia, Velocity Frequent Flyer, or third-party suppliers. If you wish to be removed from the Promotion, please email info@velocityfrequentflyer.com and provide your full name and Velocity membership number. Full competition terms and conditions can be accessed at virginaustralia.com/msl-terms-conditions. Authorised under NSW Authority No.: TP/ 01843. Permit No’s: ACT TP23/ 00567, TP23/ 00575, TP23/ 00577, TP23/ 00578, TP23/ 00579, TP23/ 00580, TP23/ 00581 & SA T23/ 384.