Virgin Australia will run direct flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles.
A Boeing 777, with 339 seats, will take-off from Melbourne Airport five times a week, Virgin Australia announced today.
The inaugural flight departed the airport this morning with a visit from Australian pop star, Dannii Minogue.
Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Simon Gandy said travellers would benefit from the 11.30am service, which would land at LAX Airport at 9am the same day.
“Travel between the US and Melbourne has increased by six percent each year for the past seven years,” Mr Gandy said.
He added that the addition of the service was “a win” for the local economy.
“A daily international service injects between 100 and 150 million dollars a year into Victoria, so with five flights a week that’s almost two million dollars flowing into the Victorian economy each week,” Mr Gandy said.
