[Expired] Virgin Australia Wants To Reward You for Choosing the Middle Seat

Update:The offer mentioned below has expired and is no longer available.

Virgin Australia has decided that widespread contempt for the middle seat should be no longer, so it’s taking matters into its own hands.

On Sunday, October 23, 2022, the airline started a scheme designed to incentivize its passengers to actively choose to sit in the middle seats of its economy cabins on domestic flights with the so-called Middle Seat Lottery.

The unique initiative means potential prizes for unfortunate (or maybe fortunate, in this case) passengers who sit in a middle seat on a flight.

Here’s what you need to know about Virgin Australia’s latest promotion.

Virgin Australia Will Reward Middle-seat Passengers

The Middle Seat Lottery will run from October 23, 2022, through April 23, 2023.

The incentive, part of a wider marketing campaign called “Bring on Wonderful,” gives those seated in middle seats a chance to win from a selection of exciting prizes.

Throughout the campaign, prizes with an estimated total value of more than 230,000 Australian Dollars will be given out to 1 lucky passenger each week.

Hot Tip: Heading to Australia sometime soon? There are many ways you can earn Virgin Australia Velocity frequent flyer points even as a U.S. citizen. 

Here’s a look at some of the prizes that will be awarded to middle-seat passengers:

• Virgin Australia Platinum Velocity frequent flyer status including 1,000,000 points
• A Virgin Voyages cruise in the Caribbean including round-trip flights to the U.S. with United Airlines
• Flights and tickets to Australian Football League (AFL) away games in 2023
• Flights to Darwin for a helicopter pub crawl

For a complete list of all the prizes you could win, check out Virgin Australia’s promotion page.

To take part in Virgin Australia’s Middle Seat Lottery, all you need to do is the following:

1. Be a Velocity frequent flyer member (join here if you’re not already a member)
2. Be at least 18 years of age
3. Be a middle-seat passenger on a Virgin Australia-operated domestic flight by April 23, 2023
4. Open the Virgin Australia app (iOS, Android) and tap Middle Seat Lottery

Each week’s winner will be contacted via email.

Final Thoughts

Forget about the aisle vs. window debate — the middle seat has them both beat, when flying Virgin Australia, at least.

If you’re feeling lucky and you’re flying domestically within Australia, it could be worth sacrificing a bit of comfort for the chance to win one of a number of great prizes!