Source : Perth Now news
Virgin Australia will extend the expiry date of its Covid travel credit program after facing criticism from customers and politicians.
The airline issued its travel vouchers between April 21, 2020 and July 31, 2022, with passengers told to redeem them before June 30 this year.
Passengers with credits were also expected to fly out before the expiry date.
In an update on Friday, the airline said customers would still have until the end of June to spend their credits but would be able to use them for flights until “late May 2027”.
The airline’s chief executive Dave Emerson said more than $1bn in Covid travel vouchers were redeemed by customers in four years, with about 90 per cent of all vouchers redeemed.
“Around 90 per cent of all Covid credits have already been redeemed,” he said.
“For customers who still hold a remaining balance, this extension provides additional flexibility to plan and take future travel.
“We’re extending the travel period for Covid credits and stepping up our customer outreach and awareness efforts to encourage customers to check their balances and use any remaining value for a booking before 30 June 2026.”
The airline said more than 90 per cent of the remaining travel credits were associated with accounts that hadn’t been touched in three years.
Chief customer officer Andrew Cleary said customers could use the credits to book flights for friends and relatives, to secure extra baggage or add pets onto their domestic flights.
“We encourage customers who believe they may hold Covid credits to visit virginaustralia.com or contact their travel agent to check their balance and redeem any remaining value before 30 June 2026 for flights departing any time from now through to late May 2027,” he said.
The voucher extension comes after criticism from politicians and customers about the potential cut-off of voucher credits.
“Covid travel credits are not loyalty points, they are customer money,” Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said this week.
“Returning this $93m to Virgin’s bottom line would be, frankly, unacceptable. It’s Australian consumers’ money.”
