The airline raffles valuable gifts among passengers who agreed to sit in the middle seat

For air passengers, getting a seat in the middle has long been a setback. Airlines are asking customers to pay the same as their aisle and window neighbors, but offer neither a view nor easy toilet access. Virgin Australia has launched the Middle Seat Lottery, a special lottery with large weekly prizes open only to passengers who wish to sit in the middle seat. Forbes.

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The middle seat is so undesirable that only 1% of passengers will voluntarily choose a middle seat, according to a recent social media survey conducted by Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia Promotion will run for six months, until April 2023, with a total prize pool of around $145.

Here's how it works: Each week, one winner will be randomly selected from among those who have flown in the middle seats of the airline. Some of the possible prizes include: a visit to the bar by helicopter; flights and tickets to away games of your favorite Australian Football League team in 2023; VIP package for the AFL Grand Final (Australian Football Super Cup); Cairns adventure package including hotel accommodation, flights and a range of adrenaline-pumping activities including bungee jumping, giant swings, white water rafting and tubing.

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Passengers flying this week in the middle seat will be eligible to win a six-night Caribbean cruise for two with Virgin Voyages, including flights to and from the US.

Next week's prize is a year of Platinum status in the Virgin Velocity frequent flyer program plus one million points. It could buy a few round trip flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles or from Sydney to San Francisco.

On an Oct. 24 flight from Melbourne to Adelaide, Virgin Australia Group CEO Jane Hrdlicka kicked off the campaign by handing out Virgin Voyages cruises costing around $6000 each to unsuspecting passengers in the middle seats. Aisle and window seaters received 10 free Velocity Points.

“We have just touched the tip of the iceberg in what is possible,” Hrdlicka said in a press release. “We do everything we can to ensure our guests have a positive experience every time they fly with us.”

The Australian carrier operates under the flag of Virgin but is owned by private equity firm Bain Capital, which bought the struggling airline in 2020 for $2,5 billion. Bain is also a joint venture partner with Virgin Voyages.

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Virgin Australia recently reported $1,4 billion in revenue for the year ended June 30, failing to offset rising fuel and staff costs, resulting in a $245 million loss. Hrdlika said the airline will become profitable in 2023.

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