QANTAS has hijacked the media frenzy surrounding V Australia’s maiden flight by offering a $2 million seat sale. The nation’s carrier announced domestic flights for as low as $55 ahead of V Australia’s inaugural flight to the US. The Qantas Domestic Bliss Sale covers 38 domestic and regional destinations, with deals such as Sydney to Brisbane for $65 and Melbourne to Adelaide for $55.

The deal is available now and will run until midnight (AEDST) on Monday, March 2. Travel is from March 24 to April 7, or April 29 to September 17, 2009. V Australia launches its first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft non-stop between Australia and the US today, providing travellers with more flight options.

The airline will fly to Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Portland and Seattle from all Australian capital cities and other towns such as Albury, Canberra and Launceston. Flights from Brisbane to Los Angeles commence on April 8 and from Melbourne to Los Angeles on September 15. The airline will initially operate three weekly direct services before ramping up to daily flights from 20 March following the delivery of additional aircraft.

But despite all the hype surrounding Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Blue offshoot, Qantas is still better value on some routes. Flights with V Australia from Sydney to Los Angeles from March 27 to April 10 start from $1350. Alternatively, flights from Adelaide to Seattle from April 4 to April 18 start at $1955. In comparison, the same flight routes with Qantas in the same weeks start from $869 and $1261 consecutively.

"We offer a range of competitive fares and, as far as the US is concerned, we provide the best schedule and the best product, particularly with the recent introduction of the Qantas A380," a Qantas spokesperson said. Qantas operates nearly 50 services each week across the Pacific – nearly 40 services to Los Angeles as well as to San Francisco, New York and Honolulu.

The nation’s carrier also announced today that it will begin a Australia to Mumbai schedule from June 2 this year, as well as increasing its A380 service between Australia and the US and UK.