VIRGIN BLUE SET FOR TAKE-OFF TO LOS ANGELES
OPEN SKIES AGREEMENT BRINGS COMPETITION TO ROUTES FROM DOWN UNDER, ECONOMIC BOOST TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

            (Los Angeles, California – March 31, 2008)  Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa announced today that Virgin Blue International Airlines will launch non-stop service between Australia and Los Angeles later this year under a new open-skies agreement, continuing a trend among international carriers that are choosing Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as their West Coast gateway and adding to the billions of dollars in economic activity generated in Southern California by overseas flights.  Virgin Blue Airlines, through its long-haul international carrier, V Australia, will use the first of its 10 weekly allotments to launch non-stop service from Australia to Los Angeles in December, operating between Sydney and LAX.

            U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S. Dennis Richardson were to sign the historic open-skies agreement at a ceremony attended by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Mudd in Washington, D.C., following announcements of the new air service in Sydney and Los Angeles.  The open-skies agreement was announced in February.

            "I am thrilled that such an innovative airline offering value and high-quality service to passengers has chosen Los Angeles as its front door to the U.S.,” Mayor Villaraigosa said.  “It is a privilege to benefit so quickly from the open-skies agreement lifting market restrictions and allowing more air travel choices between both countries.”

            Speaking upon his arrival from Sydney, where the new air service was announced earlier in the day, Virgin Blue Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Brett Godfrey praised the open-skies agreement and said that with the initiation of the Australia-Los Angeles routes, air passengers will be able to travel around the world on Virgin brand airlines.

            “The Australia-U.S. Open Skies agreement is a great achievement and a significant change after almost twenty years of restrictive bi-laterals,” said Godfrey.  “The agreement and the approvals granted underline the commitment of both governments to extensively liberalize Australia-U.S. air services -- a decision we strongly endorse and one which will bring significant benefits to both countries.

            “At Virgin Blue, we are particularly proud of the contributing role we have played as a catalyst for the establishment of the agreement.  It will enable us to bring long awaited, genuine competition to the trans-Pacific market,” Godfrey said.

            The Virgin Blue chief executive added, “Eight years ago we launched Virgin Blue, the first Virgin airline in Australian skies with just two planes and 200 staff.  Today, we fly 15 million passengers a year to over 30 destinations in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific island countries.  We believe we have proven our ability through Virgin Blue to stimulate change and innovation to the benefit of air travelers, tourism and the economy, and V Australia will again be a catalyst for change, this time in the arena of international aviation.

            “V Australia is a brand new long-haul international airline for Australia, focused first on the U.S. through our chosen gateway of Los Angeles and bringing a brand new style of service to the trans-Pacific route.  It’s tremendously exciting and opens a whole new range of possibilities for travelers and for tourism and trade development between our countries,” Godfrey said.

            The V Australia service will increase seat capacity between the U.S. and Australia by 16 percent, which Mayor Villaraigosa said would continue to stimulate new service and provide further benefits to passengers.

            The V Australia flights are expected to generate an annual economic impact of up to $872 million to Southern California, and sustain as many as 4,340 jobs with total wages of $218 million, based on the findings of a recent economic analysis of overseas flights at LAX by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC).

            V Australia will operate Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the trans-Pacific route, which Mayor Villaraigosa said will be welcomed by LAX neighbors because it is “one of the most fuel efficient and green commercial aircraft available.”  V Australia will take delivery of its first 777-300ER in September and it will be the first and only carrier to operate the aircraft between Australia and the U.S.

            V Australia is the ninth air carrier to begin or announce new international service to LAX in the past year, continuing a trend toward increased international air travel at LAX, which had consistently lost market share since 2000, and solidifying LAX’s position as the leading Asia Pacific gateway in the U.S.

            In total, the nine carriers are adding 126 arrivals and departures per week at LAX, with an estimated annual economic impact of more than $5.6 billion.  Overall, the new service will sustain 28,000 jobs paying cumulative wages of $1.4 billion.

            Other new or recently announced international service at LAX includes:

• Air France - seven round-trips per week to London, which began March 30 under the recent open-skies agreement between the U.S. and European Union;
• Alitalia - five round-trips per week to Rome beginning in June;
• British Airways - seven additional round-trips per week to London, which began in April 2007;
• Emirates Airline - seven round-trips per week to Dubai beginning Sept. 1;
• EVA Air - three additional round-trips per week to Taipei via Osaka which began March 30;
• Korean Air - three round-trips per week to São Paulo, Brazil, beginning June 2;
• United Airlines - seven round-trips per week to Frankfurt, which began last December;
• United Airlines - seven round-trips per week to Hong Kong, which began last October; and
• Air China - seven additional round-trips per week to Beijing beginning in Summer 2009.

            According to the LAEDC study released last year, one average daily, round-trip, transoceanic flight of wide-body aircraft from LAX generated $623 million in annual economic output, and sustained 3,120 direct and indirect jobs in Southern California and $156 million in wages.