Virgin Australia is going to create a separate division for its Velocity frequent flyer program. The CEO of the new, standalone business unit will be Neil Thompson, a former manager of loyalty marketing at Qantas Frequent Flyer. Virgin Australia CEO John Borghetti said, “We have done a lot of work over the past 18 months to create a solid foundation for the frequent flyer program. The next stage will be to position it as the leading loyalty program in Australia and as a key driver of future earnings.” There are nearly three million members in the Virgin Australia Velocity program. Thompson will join Velocity in August 2012.