Virgin Blue Airlines to operate flights from Perth to Christmas Island, Cocos Keeling Islands from April 2010

Virgin Blue Airlines, the low-cost airline based in Australia, has been won the contract to operate passenger services from Perth in Australia to the Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean, and also flights between the two territories.

Both the islands are territories administered by the federal government of Australia, but they are closer to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, than any city in Australia.

Virgin Blue Airlines was awarded the rights to fly to the Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands after winning a tender by the federal government.

In a statement, Virgin Blue Airlines said it will start flights from Perth to the Christmas Island 3 times a week from April 1, 2010, and from Perth to the Cocos Keeling Islands 3 times a week from April 3, 2010.

Flights from Perth to both the Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands will cost $464 each way.

The cost of flying from Australia to the Christmas Island ands the Cocos Islands has been, historically, on par with a flight to Europe.

The federal government of Australia subsidises the flights to the Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands once revenues fall below an agreed minimum limit. In the last financial year, the government had subsidised the flights to the tune of $972,000.

Virgin Blue Airlines will use a 104-seat Embraer E-190 jet plane for the flights on the Perth-Christmas Island and the Perth-Cocos Keeling Islands routes and also between the two territories.

Both the Perth-Christmas Island and the Perth-Cocos Keeling Islands flights will have the capacity to carry more freight and reduce the flying time between the two islands and the mainland, Brett Godfrey, chief executive of Virgin Blue Airlines, said in the statement.

According to Godfrey, the Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands are two of the best, unique and unspoilt holiday destinations in the region.

Virgin Blue Airlines, he added, is confident that the new services will further boost tourism to the “most remarkable jewels” in the Indian Ocean as well as help bolster relations between the two territories and the mainland.

The flights to the two Australian territories in the India Ocean will increase the network of Virgin Blue Airlines to 30 destinations, Brett Godfrey said.

The Christmas Island, a World Heritage site, is famous for the migration of the red crab. It is home to 35 endemic species of wildlife and also a breeding station for over 80,000 tropical sea-birds.

The Cocos Islands consists of 27 coral islands and two flat, low-lying atolls. It offers diving, snorkelling, reef-walking, golf, beach-combing, bike-riding, bird-watching, and fishing.

Tourism operators on the Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands have been complaining of lack of competition in air services.

The flights to the Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands were earlier operated by Cobham Aviation, formerly known as National Jet Systems. Cobham Aviation had, in fact, lost the contract in 2008, but continued to operate the flights after Sky Air World, the winning bidder, went into administration.

Virgin Blue Airlines, founded by the Virgin Group of British billionaire-businessman Sir Richard Branson, is based in Brisbane, Australia.