State welcomes Virgin Blue to Perth

9/12/01
Tourism Minister Clive Brown today extended a warm Western Australian welcome to Virgin Blue as it made its inaugural direct daily flight to Perth.
"The State Government is delighted to welcome Virgin Blue to the State," Mr Brown said.
"The arrival of another carrier to WA marks a new chapter in the tourism and aviation industries.
"It is also great news for WA travellers and businesses."
Flight DJ 881 from Melbourne touched down at the Perth International Airport at 8.30am with more than 180 passengers and crew on board, including Virgin Blue chief executive officer Brett Godfrey.
Mr Brown officially welcomed the party to Perth and presented those on board with a commemorative medallion from the Perth Mint to mark the occasion.
The Minister said the increase in air capacity to the State would help the tourism industry build on the benefits of the additional $5million in State Government funding for promotion and marketing announced in September, after the collapse of Ansett and the acts of terrorism in America.
"Our marketing strategies have been very successful in encouraging Western Australians to travel at home and we are now also working hard to achieve strong results in the interstate and international markets," he said.
Mr Brown said the WA Tourism Commission would continue discussions with Virgin Blue about joint marketing activities.
"The WA Tourism Commission works with every airline that flies into the State to ensure the capacity available is marketed and utilised effectively and in partnership with industry," he said.
Virgin Blue will now fly daily to Perth from Melbourne and Adelaide. The daily schedule is as follows:

• Melbourne-Perth DJ 881 departs Melbourne at 7.30am, arriving Perth at 8.35am;
• Perth-Mel DJ892 departs Perth at 4.20pm, arriving Melbourne at 10.50pm;
• Adelaide-Perth DJ 363 departs Adelaide at 3pm, arriving Perth at 3.45pm; and
• Perth-Adelaide DJ 356 departs Perth at 9.10am, arriving Adelaide at 2.25pm.