For travel from Auckland to Sydney, lead-in one-way Getaway fares start from $319 (inclusive of taxes), and lead-in one-way Freedom fares start from $439 (inclusive of taxes). Prices of the third type of fare - Elevate - will be released when they go on sale on October 28.
Soon-to-be rival Air New Zealand charges $20 extra for checked-in bags and a further $20 for meals on its transtasman flights. However, even with those extras, its best The Works price on the same route on October 29 is advertised at $287 one-way. A month later the best The Works price is $277.
Air New Zealand said its was confident its service, flexible product options and modern fleet would continue to appeal to travellers on both sides of the Tasman.
Virgin will also have WiFi on all its Boeing 737-800s across the Tasman, with the first 15 minutes free and subsequent time charged at A$6.99 ($7.60) an hour or A$12.99 for the duration of the full flight.
Air New Zealand has WiFi on a small number of planes but after resistance to initial prices has dropped it.
Across the Tasman, the first 10 minutes is free and the full flight $10.
Burger Wars: Who wins?
Sharp said Virgin would offer value for money. ''It won't be a low-cost carrier fare,'' he said.
However, it is possible Virgin could deploy its budget arm, Tigerair, on transtasman routes in the future.
''Tigerair is a very important part of our brand suite. We've indicated that we'll assess the market over the next 12 to 18 months and if there's a role for Tiger we'll bring Tiger across, however, there's nothing to announce at this point.''
Virgin used a 700-burger giveaway at The White Lady to launch its new cabin products, and updated its campaign to attract Kiwi suppliers to provide beef for its transtasman flights.
The burger stunt was a dig at Air New Zealand's campaign for the Impossible Burger, an artificial-meat meal developed in the United States and for a limited time being served to business premier passengers on Los Angeles-Auckland flights.
Sharp said the ''GetBeef'' campaign and the giveaway came after Air New Zealand ''played into our hands''.
The airline always tried to use local suppliers for its flights.
''It is opportunistic but at the end of the day it supports the message that we're really upping the ante with the product offering into New Zealand,'' said Sharp.
Air New Zealand says it supports the local meat industry and in the past year it served around 1.3 million Kiwi-sourced beef and lamb meals to customers from around the world.
''All the beef and lamb we serve on flights out of New Zealand is locally sourced, and we have purchased around 110 tonnes of New Zealand-produced beef in the year ending June 2018,'' the airline said.
It says it is also the world's largest single server of New Zealand wines, pouring more than 7.7 million glasses in the last financial year.
Flight Centre's product leader, Sean Berenson, welcomed the Virgin move to more inclusive fares.
''Virgin has clearly listened to customer feedback and acted on it; further diversifying the transtasman offerings, which allow Kiwis to pick and choose whatever travel experience is right for them. It's putting travellers in control,'' he said.
