Virgin Has Extended Its Middle Seat Lottery Until the Middle of 2023 with $45,000 in Prizes Up for Grabs

How do you get plane passengers excited about sitting sandwiched between two strangers? To turn middle seat-dwelling frowns upside down, Virgin Australia launched the Middle Seat Lottery in 2022. It's exactly what it sounds like, giving prizes to people who find themselves perched in everyone's least favourite spot in the air — and, while it was originally set to only span six months, the scheme has just been extended until mid-2023.

No one likes the middle seat on a plane. Does anyone book flights, select where to sit and genuinely (and willingly) pick being stuck between two other people, with no window to look out and no easy access to the aisle, if there's another option? No, no they don't. But resisting that urge until Friday, July 9 could score goodies for your troubles, with an extra $45,000 in prizes added to the pool.

The 11-week extension means 11 more weekly prizes, with holidays the big focus. Fancy return flights to Tokyo? To Europe, plus a luxe experience in Doha? To North Queensland, including swimming with saltwater crocodiles? To Townsville, where a waterfall and tropical island tour via helicopter and sailboat cruise await? They're some of the giveaways — and there's a stint on North Stradbroke Island that starts with a beer-tasting experience onboard a private jet, then spans a brewery tour with Straddie Brewing Co, too.

The freebies change each week, and are only available to passengers to meet one big condition: sitting in the middle seat because you've either selected it or you've been assigned it. An hour or so in a seat you wouldn't normally pick for the chance to win your next getaway? Worth it, probably.

Plenty of folks agree, with more than 240,000 Virgin Australia guests entering the competition since it launched last October.

To go in the running to win any of the above prizes, you do need to be a Velocity Frequent Flyer member over the age of 18. And, you'll have to fly somewhere within Australia, on a Virgin Australia-operated domestic flight, during the competition period — in a middle seat, obviously.

Also, to enter, you then need to use the Virgin Australia app within 48 hours of your flight's scheduled departure time, tapping on the Middle Seat Lottery tile, finding your flight and entering your details.

From there, winners are drawn each week and contacted if they're successful.

Virgin Australia's Middle Seat Lottery runs until Sunday, July 9, 2023. For more information, head to the Virgin website.

Images: Carly Ravenhall.

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