Smart choices, real value: Elevate business travel
Here's how Virgin Australia provides unparalleled value across choice, discounts, flexibility and reliability for Australian businesses.
Strategic choice, smart discounts
Savvy businesses know that competitive fares and tailored options are crucial for optimising corporate travel budgets. Virgin Australia for business partners with their clients and travel management companies in a tri-party relationship, to optimise fare discounts and stretch budgets further. They also offer a range of fare types to provide better choice and inclusions based on individual business and traveller needs.
Virgin Australia's rewards program for SME customers (the Virgin Australia Business Flyer) applies a fixed rate discount on their Flex and Business class fares. This dedicated program ensures businesses gain maximum value with discounts of up to 4 per cent off Flex fares and 6 per cent off Business Class fares on domestic flights, and up to 10 per cent off international flights. The free program is designed for eligible Australian businesses with an ABN/ACN, and an annual domestic flight spend under $300,000 with Virgin Australia.
Beyond discounts, Virgin Australia Business Flyer (VABF) rewards Australian businesses and their travellers via the Velocity Frequent Flyer program. Velocity rewards frequent travellers across four Status Tiers — Red, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with Forever Gold and Platinum Plus Tiers launching later this year. Higher Status Tiers unlock priority customer experiences, such as Lounge access, Priority Check-in, and Priority Boarding (where available), which can be leveraged when flying for both work and leisure. Employees can also earn personal Velocity Points and Status Credits, while the business simultaneously collects Velocity Points.
Accelerated status-earn opportunities also allow businesses to fast-track to Velocity Gold. Plus, tiered earning means businesses can accumulate 1, 1.5, or 2 Velocity Points per $1 spent, depending on annual travel spend (Tier 1: <$10k; Tier 2: $10k–$50k; Tier 3: $50k–$300k annually).
Businesses can further boost points through Virgin Australia Group's network of over 40 partner brands and offers across energy, payments, loans, rideshare, car hire, office supplies, and tech, enhancing their loyalty potential. There are also bonus campaigns, such as earning triple business points on eligible flights if you also earn at least one point with an eligible partner brand by July 31, 2025*.
Eve Hollenkamp, executive assistant at Boardriders (the company behind iconic brands like Quiksilver, Roxy and Billabong), highlights this value. 'The Virgin Australia Business Flyer program gives us access to flight discounts, the ability to earn Velocity Points, and the opportunity to upgrade memberships,' says Hollenkamp. These accumulated points can be reinvested into the business — redeemed on future flights directly through a dedicated booking portal, or transferred to any Velocity Frequent Flyer account for other business-related travel needs, effectively managing travel budgets.
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The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams. Australian workplaces are being urged to double down on diversity, equity and inclusion programs rather than follow the United States in dismantling them. Known colloquially as DEI, these initiatives are designed to create a fair and inclusive workplace with diverse people, where the playing field is levelled and all feel welcome. Since his most recent election as United States president, Donald Trump has wound back government DEI programs with many private sector companies following suit. But the former head of the Australian Retailers Association, Paul Zahra, wants Australian businesses to take a different path. Recently appointed patron of Pride in Diversity, an organisation that supports employers in all aspects of LGBTQ workplace inclusion, Mr Zahra said the need for diverse visibility had never been greater. When appointed chief executive of David Jones in 2010, he was the only openly gay leader in the ASX 200. During his time at the retailers association, Mr Zahra then championed DEI by signing retailers up to gender and LGBTQI equity statements and advocating for First Nations peoples. "I bring lived experience and I understand the complexities," he told AAP. "For LGBTQI people there is still a social taboo and it's not always socially acceptable." But rather than going down a rabbit hole of winding programs back, diversity, equity and inclusion should represent an opportunity for employers. "People need to see it as an economic imperative and what is happening in the US means Australia can position itself advantageously," Mr Zahra said. "While Washington rolls back DEI initiatives ... Australia has a unique chance to position itself as a global leader in inclusive business practices and reap the substantial economic benefits that come with it." The White House has defended its shutting down of DEI programs within government, calling the framework a form of discrimination and says its transgender policy protects women by keeping transgender women out of shared spaces. But Mr Zahra, who led the retailers association through the COVID-19 pandemic which was one of the toughest periods in retail history, said he had seen time and again how diverse leadership teams outperformed homogeneous ones. "As this continues in the US, more of the talent will be forced out and Australia has a real opportunity to capture that talent," he said. "When your competitors abandon proven business practices, Australia can capture the talent that values inclusion." Recent Diversity Council Australia research shows some progress has been made in Australian workplaces towards diversity and inclusion but opposition to these efforts has doubled to seven per cent since 2017. Despite having more ways of reaching colleagues than ever, the Inclusion at Work Index found workers report feeling less connected and able to contribute to their teams.