VIRGIN Blue will become official airline of the Australian...

VIRGIN Blue will become official airline of the Australian Football League after stealing the $8 million-a-year contract from arch rival Qantas.
Qantas had been keen to extend its association with the AFL, which started in 2002 after the collapse of Ansett.

But Virgin is believed to have bid aggressively for the contract, which involves sponsorship and extensive travel deals.

The official airline provides the AFL with thousands of heavily discounted seats a year for football clubs and AFL officials.

The deal, to come into effect from January 1 next year, will be announced this afternoon.

Hundreds of AFL figures and supporters are meeting on the Gold Coast today for the AFL Industry Conference and tonight's draft.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
Related CoverageQANTAS: A380 decision days away
Qantas dumped by AFL Herald Sun, 6 hours ago
Virgin trying to grab ball from Qantas Herald Sun, 7 days ago
Virgin keen to bench Qantas sponsorship Daily Telegraph, 8 days ago
Third man of Australian aviation Herald Sun, 17 Oct 2010
Virgin brand feeling a bit blue The Australian, 8 Oct 2010
.End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
?We are very excited to have been chosen as the official airline for the AFL. It is a great fit for
the Virgin Blue brand and we look forward to welcoming the AFL board, executives, teams and
support crews on board," said Virgin Blue boss John Borghetti in a statement.

And AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said that, as the game was expanding, "we look
forward to the AFL, our clubs and supporters partnering with Virgin Blue as football-related
travel and tourism which is estimated at $400 million a year continues to grow".