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Virgin Australia: Now with Sexy, Sexy Business Class

Last time we checked in with the happenings of Aussie aviation, Virgin Australia was opening up new lounges all over their network, repainting planes and re-branding airports. It seems, however, that they may have saved that best for last. This week was the official launch of Virgin's business class cabin across their entire fleet of Boeing 737s and Airbus 330s.

Rewind to April 2011, when Virgin Australia was still Virgin Blue, and very busy refreshing itself to become a new airline capable of going head-to-head with rival, Qantas. Since the collapse of Ansett in 2001, Qantas has been the sole player in the domestic business class market. Fast forward to now, where Virgin Australia is sparkly and shiny, and has eliminated their low-cost model to become a premium airline contender.

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What Melbourne Has to Offer (Besides Tennis) During the Australian Open

The whole of Australia is consumed with the Summer tennis circuit currently touring around the country, and the pinnacle of the tennis season down under is marked by the Australian Open played in Melbourne. As the only grand slam tennis tournament held in the Southern Hemisphere, the city is showcased not only as a sport capital, but the cultural capital of Australia.

Melbourne is located on the southeastern Aussie coast and it boasts a vibrant cafe society and an avant garde fashion scene. Originally established during the Australian gold rush, Melbourne's rich history and causes it to be called the "Paris of Down Under." If your plans bring you to the city for tennis, plan to soak up more experiences than just seeing top seeded Novak Djokovic or Caroline Wozniacki.

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Happy Happy Joy Joy: More In-Flight WiFi for More Airlines

Two huge bits of in-flight entertainment news dropped this week. Let's sum 'em up:

· Emirates A380s join the In-Flight WiFi bandwagon

Guess the airline with the largest amount of orders for Airbus A380. It's Emirates. Guess the airline with the largest amount of the superjumbo already flying the skies. Again, it's Emirates. Guess the airline that's already got in-flight WiFi on most those babies. Duh, Emirates. Still, the news that passengers may pay up and log on during A380 Emirates flights came in 2010 with the projected log-in date June 2012. They've arrived at their goal a whole seven months early!

The service is OnAir, the same long-haul WiFi provider for Oman Air, TAM, Singapore and more. Pricing begins at $7.50 and is arranged in service bundles of MB. And yes, even First Class will have to pay.

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Inside the Virgin Australia Lounge at Brisbane Airport

From repainting planes to overhauling terminals, Virgin Australia has had their plates full trying rebrand their entire operation, while changing the image from an all-economy service to a full-service airline. From the looks of things, the livery is flying all over Australia with more planes to come and re-Virgin-ized airport spaces. This goes for new airport lounges in major cities.

We took advantage of the fact that Virgin allows lounge access to Gold and Platinum Velocity Rewards members without actually flying, and checked out the Brisbane lounge for lunch. Yea, we went to the airport just for lunch. On first impression, the design is slick and the check-in fast and friendly, as expected from the brand.

One thing worth mentioning are the new staff uniforms, done up in a sultry, yet professional, red with Virgin-purple color pops in the form of neck scarves. So super glam.

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Buy This: Lifetime Access to Virgin Australia Lounges

From time to time, we come across airline offers that truly intrigue and shock, and last week Virgin Australia's announcement was no different. Not 6 months from a complete company re-brand, Sir Richard Branson's Australian brainchild is now offering customers lifetime access to any of their lounges.

What do you need to do to have this distinction? Only $9,750 AUD! If you are over 60 years old, no worries, an obvious discount is in order and the price drops to $6,750 AUD.

For those willing to part with this type of cash, access is granted to all Virgin Australia Lounges across the country and reciprocal access to Air New Zealand Koru Lounges. When in Sydney, the prestigious membership allows curb-side check-in and a specially dedicated entrance to the terminal and lounge. Virgin will also throw in some culinary products from their celebrity chef, Luke Mangan, and skin care products from Grown.

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Winter Airline Strike News Getting Better and Better

As the airline industry settles in for a winter of labor turmoil, we here at Jaunted are becoming resigned to what will be an endless series of airline strike stories. And while we could just update you with lines like "were you thinking of going to [destination X that's totally hosed] some time soon? If so, don't"—that seems just a little bit flippant. Although if you were thinking of going to Canada, France, Australia, or India some time soon, there's a good chance you're going to want to consider travelers' insurance.

A few days ago we told you that the Qantas and Air France strikes were winding down, which was technically true. As of yesterday Qantas had resumed all flights and Air France was operating at 90%. But—because this is how things are going to go now, apparently—none of the issues have been resolved. So everything could kick up again before the month is over.

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A Gold Star for Virgin Australia's Frequent Flyer Status Match

One of the old Virgin Blue Velocity Gold cards

Virgin Australia, the airline formerly known as Virgin Blue, not only changed their name back in May, but flipped the flying game in Australia.

More recently, the Aussie airline upped the ante competing with Qantas by offering a Velocity Frequent Flyer status match for other airline's frequent flyer programs. With a simple email and proof of your current status with a competing program, Virgin bellied up to the bar and automatically (not to mention quickly) upgraded any member to the corresponding status in Velocity.

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The Next WiFi-Equipped Airline May Just Be Virgin Australia

Awesome, possibly game-changing news in the land of Oz from our friends at Australian Business Traveller! Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin group of airlines are no stranger to in-flight technology, and now it looks like Virgin Australia is next in line for an upgrade. The airline is working on all kinds of in-flight entertainment options behind the scenes, but the one we’re most interested in is WiFi access.

Don’t start emailing friends and family while traveling down under just yet, as it sounds like the wireless capabilities might be used for things other than watching YouTube videos. Virgin Australia is actually planning to use the connectivity to pass along new entertainment options—like movies and music—rather than just Internet access. However, we have our doubts that they’ll be able to resist offering in-flight connectivity to one and all once the technology is on board.

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Lay Down $8,000 for a Night at Richard Branson's Other Private Island, in Australia

Fill in the blank: "Richard Branson's heart is made of _________." Some possibly popular answers could be "billions of dollars," "Virgin red," or even "charity," but really if you take it literally, Richard Branson's heart is made of island. Nope, not his beloved Necker Island in the Caribbean, but his other island, a heart-shaped in Australia's Noosa River. It's name is Makepeace Island, and Branson bought it back in 2003 with the intention of turning it into an eco-retreat for crew of his Virgin Australia airline (then called Virgin Blue).

Makepeace Island has hit the headlines today, however, because it's now open to the paying public, if you've got at least 7,900 AUD ($8,300) per night. Its spent its last few years as a private retreat for Branson's family and that of the CEO of Virgin Australia, but we guess they've got other places to go and people to see now.

For takers, the 25-acre island offers Balinese-style accommodations for up to 22 guests, and it's not out in the middle of nowhere either. Makepeace is only a quick riverboat hop from the heart of tourism in Australia's "Sunshine Coast." Oh yea, and it's got volcanic boulder bathtubs:

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From Axl Rose to Zulu Warrior: A Visual History of Sir Richard Branson in Wacky Costumes

Branson dressed as a boxer. He's quite the knockout (get it?).

After much scientific testing, complicated measuring and grueling research, we've come to the very important conclusion that it is impossible to think Virgin Group main man Sir Richard Branson is anything but extremely awesome. C'mon—the man kite-boards with naked models, says he wants to build a spaceship and then actually does it, saves the world daily with his many charities, and yet still has time to sit down with us for a quick chat.

We last caught up with Sir Richard onboard Virgin America's inaugural flight to Chicago-O'Hare. As for all other monumental occasions in his family of Virgin brands, Branson donned a fun costume and parades around for the cameras, bursting with vim and vigor. This got us thinking. What costume, after all these years of dressing wacky for promotional stunts, does Richard really wish he could wear? So we asked him.

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High-Altitude, High-End Dining on V Australia

Let’s be honest, no one looks forward to airline food, but we’re kind of obsessed with it here at Jaunted. No matter how good it is, or how much R & D has gone into making it as palatable as possible, it’s not like eating on the ground. Part of that is because the altitude impairs taste buds, so passengers literally can’t taste much, but the dry, desiccated cabin air certainly can’t be good for the appetite either.

But when flying International Business Class, the highest class of service on V Australia, you can certainly expect some good eats (and drinks!) onboard.

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Delta and Virgin Australia Make Love While Qantas Watches Wistfully

The Down Under War of the Airlines continues. This morning Virgin Australia and Delta Airlines have announced an interline partnership that will enable travelers to "travel on a single ticket on the two airlines between Australia and the US." What we think this means (and correct us if we're wrong) is that you can fly Virgin from Oz to Los Angeles and then hop on a Delta flight from LA to anywhere else in the US. You get one ticket and your luggage is checked all the way through to your final destination.

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