Coming off the recent annoucement of a consolidated frequent flyer program between Virgin airlines, Virgin Australia has announced it will code share with sister airline Virgin America to eight additional cities in the United States. Virgin America is considered to be one the best American domestic airlines and this agreement marks the first time the airline will have code shares on its flights.

Virgin Australia is hoping to cash in on approximately 60% of its passengers that fly beyond Los Angeles and this announcement opens up a lot of the country to direct flights from Los Angeles, rather than a one stop code share service via a Delta Airlines hub. The new routes, subject to government approval, are; Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Washington DC, Seattle, Portland and Philadelphia.

In other Virgin Australia news, work has commenced on the refurbishment of Terminal 3 at Melbourne airport the five year program, in conjuction with Melbourne Airport, includes $1 billion worth of improvements . A premium valet service is also expected to be opened later in the year.

Virgin Australia has also launched its Velocity dining partnership, the online booking engine promising real-time availability, will reward Velocity members with 300 points for every honoured booking. Details can be found here