Virgin teams with SIA on Canberra international flights

Virgin Australia will bolster its position in the lucrative business and government travellers market in Canberra with a codesharing agreement for its partner Singapore Airlines' new flights from the nation's capital to Singapore. Virgin boss John Borghetti flew to Canberra Wednesday to join Singapore Airlines' CE Goh Choon Phong at a formal announcement of the flights. Singapore Airlines, one of the largest shareholders in Virgin, will begin four weekly flights with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft from September. The Singapore-Canberra flights, which will continue on to Wellington, are the first international services Canberra Airport has secured after a long-running campaign with government backing. The flights, which include 38 semi-flat business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and 228 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 configuration, will be red-eyes in both directions, making them convenient for business and government travellers. Singapore Airlines offers connections throughout Asia and Europe through its hub at Changi Airport. Virgin, which has a trans-Tasman partnership with Air New Zealand, has not announced plans to codeshare on the Canberra-Wellington flights at this stage.<br/>