Guests on Virgin Australia’s first flight to Samoa in three years will receive a friendly welcome home today, with the flight to be operated by a proud Samoan crew.

Sydney-Apia services commence today and Brisbane flights will take off on 23 March – with both routes operating up to two return flights a week on the airline’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

The all-Samoan cabin crew and First Officer will warmly greet guests, who will also be treated to a traditional song during the flight and cultural welcome upon landing in Apia.

Guests travelling on Samoa services will be able to access strong connectivity to the rest of the Virgin Australia domestic and short-haul international network through Brisbane and Sydney.

Flights from both Brisbane and Sydney will initially depart in the evening, and from 28 March the Sydney flight will move to a daytime departure.

Virgin Australia’s International short-haul network continues to expand following the relaunch of the business in November 2020 and now includes Bali, Queenstown, Nadi, Port Vila and Apia, as well as Tokyo (Haneda) which will commence in June 2023. New short haul international services will see Virgin Australia grow its international capacity by 50 per cent by mid-2024.