Virgin sings as the music dies on Qantas

Responding to the announcement that Qantas has ditched music channels on most of its domestic flights Virgin Australia is touting its support of the Australian music industry. Virgin Australia told AirlineRatings.com that it is "delighted to offer a platform for new and emerging artists to showcase their talent to the 24 million passengers we transport each year." The airline support bands and artists across its network by:

• Offering an artist/band the opportunity to host a two-hour feature playlist onboard every month, demonstrating our commitment to giving new talent the opportunity to expand their audience reach! Artists who have recorded the featured playlist in the past include Vance Joy, Jimmy Barnes, Garbage, Diesel, Troy Casser-Daley and The Rubens to name just a few.
• We are the only Australian airline to offer individual artists 64 kilograms of checked baggage when artists are traveling domestically.
• Featuring the NIDA and Triple J Unearthed Music Video Competition winners onboard since 2014.
• Major sponsor of Australia’s leading new music festival, BIGSOUND, and featuring a highlights video onboard in the lead up to each year’s festival and
• Offering our passengers a vast array of curated music playlists that appeal to all types of musical tastes.

Virgin Australia also highlighted it has also been shortlisted for the Best Original Audio Award for ‘The Voices of Australia’ soundtrack at the 2019 APEX Awards. "We are proud to be the Australian airline of choice for the Australian music industry and we will continue to find ways to ensure that Australian music is an integral part of our in-flight entertainment services, a Virgin Australia spokesperson said. Qantas said that it has bent to customer demand for movies and axed music on its Boeing 737 and 717 fleets which operate on mostly domestic routes. The airline found that 92 percent of passengers were not tuning into the music channels opting for movies, TV, and documentaries instead. “Our research showed that fewer and fewer of our customers are tuning into the radio and music channels. It also indicated that many passengers on both domestic and international flights bring their own device with music already downloaded,” a Qantas spokesperson READ: Interior images of 777X show a greater level of comfort