Australia's second-largest airline, Virgin Australia, is extending its Middle Seat Lottery in response to popular demand. The promotion to entice more passengers to select a middle seat was due to end on April 23rd but will now run until Sunday, July 9th, 2023.
Would you pick the middle seat?
Virgin Australia (VA) announced the Middle Seat Lottery in October last year after its research showed that less than 1% of passengers intentionally selected the middle seat. The research said that 62% of Velocity Frequent Flyer members favored the aisle, 35% the window and 3% didn't have a preference.
Virgin Australia Group chief marketing officer Libby Minogue said:
"We are laser focused on elevating the Virgin Australia travel experience at every part of the journey and the Middle seat Lottery is a great example of that.
"We know the middle seat is a bug bear for travellers globally which is why the competition has been so popular. We have literally had hundreds of thousands of entries over the past six months and we are really proud to extend the competition with an additional prize pool valued at over [AU] $45,000 ($30,000).
As for changing the perception of being squeezed into a middle seat, Minogue said that some guests are now intentionally choosing to sit in the middle, a sign of how successful the promotion has been for VA.
Since the competition started last October, more than 240,000 VA passengers have entered, including New South Wales goat farmers Nick and Lauren Jackson, who won a Virgin Voyages Caribbean Cruise. The newlyweds were on their VA honeymoon flight when Lauren sat in the middle seat and decided to fill in the entry, which won them the cruise and return flights to Miami.
More prizes are up for grabs
The extension means there will be an additional eleven weekly prizes valued at more than A$45,000, including:
- Return flights to Tokyo with Virgin Australia and 250,000 Velocity Frequent Flyer points
- Return flights to Europe with Qatar Airways and an exclusive once-in-a-lifetime luxury experience in Doha for two people
- A tropical North Queensland getaway, with the chance to swim with saltwater crocodiles for four people
- A three night stay in Townsville with a waterfall and tropical island tour via helicopter and sailboat cruise
- A curated beer tasting experience onboard a private jet, followed by a brewery tour with the Straddie Brewing Co. on North Stradbroke Island in Queensland.
Each week until July 9th, one winner will be randomly selected from passengers who enter the middle seat lottery, as was one lucky winner, Harrison from Hobart. He won monthly Virgin Australia flights and Lounge access for an entire year for sitting in the middle seat on a surfing trip to the Gold Coast. Harrison said:
"Winning the Middle Seat Lottery will allow us to see more of this beautiful country and the people that live in it. Definitely move to the middle seat next time you fly."
It appears that the possibility of winning a fantastic prize is tempting passengers to go for the seat that VA said has "struggled for popularity since the dawn of commercial aviation."
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Would you pick the middle seat on a Virgin Australia flight while the lottery is running? Let us know in the comment section.