Virgin offers online incentive

Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will offer its summer passengers an incentive to use online check-in facilities.

Between August 1st and September 30th, Virgin passengers flying from Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports who check-in online will receive a £6 discount on every £30 they spend on the plane.

Furthermore, passengers will receive vouchers and discounts which can be spent in selected duty-free retailers at Terminal 3 at Heathrow and the South Terminal at Gatwick.

"We hope that this promotion will encourage passengers to check-in online before their trip," explained Paul Dickinson, sales and marketing director at the airline.

"The airline expects that 80 per cent of its passengers will be using online check-in and kiosk check-in by the end of 2008 and so we're hoping that this promotion will encourage passengers to see how easy it is."

Virgin's onboard shopping range, Retail Therapy, won awards in 2006 and the airline now offers separate magazines to target the tastes and fashions of its business travellers and leisure passengers.

In June, Virgin Atlantic said that it would offer flights from Heathrow to Mauritius. The twice-weekly service is due to begin on October 28th.