Virgin Australia touches down in Tokyo

Virgin Australia has touched down in Japan, following its maiden flight to Haneda, Tokyo.

Virgin Australia

The new service from Cairns connects two iconic destinations for the first time in aviation history. To celebrate, Virgin Australia unveiled a Japanese-inspired menu for the service which includes dishes like bento boxes, dumplings, miso soup, noodles, curries, sake and Japanese lager. The dishes and snacks are served alongside Western meals like panko crumb ravioli and four-cheese arancini, so there’s something for everyone. The new menu is part of Virgin Australia’s plans to ‘bring on wonderful’, and bring back the wonder and excitement of flying.

“Creating wonderful travel experiences starts in the air, and we are excited to bring a little slice of Tokyo to life on board for our guests, whether that is building excitement before they touch down or to mark the unforgettable trip they don’t want to end,” said Nick Rohrlach, Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO and Japan Services Representative.

The Cairns-Haneda service will operate daily, year-round to open a new gateway of travel between Australia and Japan. Cairns acts as a convenient connection point for the Tokyo service, with same day connecting flights from major Australian cities, including Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Virgin Australia has also dropped its Take off for Tokyo sale, with fares as low as $699 (AUD) return. The sale fares are available to book now until midnight AEST Tuesday 4 July 2023, unless sold out prior.

Virgin Australia

In other news this week, Virgin Australia took delivery of the first of its new fuel-efficient eight new Boeing 737-8 aircraft, which has touched down on Australian soil. The delivery marks an important step in Virgin Australia’s transition to net-zero by 2050, as Virgin Australia’s Chief Operations Officer, Stuart Aggs, explain: “While our approach to decarbonisation is multi-faceted, fleet modernisation is a critical part of progressing our sustainability ambitions and represents a significant opportunity to reduce our emissions intensity in the near-term.”

The new aircraft will operate Virgin Australia’s Cairns-Tokyo route in the coming weeks, once routine regulatory approvals have been completed.

Check out Virgin Australia’s Take off to Tokyo sale here, and read its Tokyo Destination Guide here.