AIR NEW ZEALAND: Likes it both ways—Qantas and Virgin Australia

From today, Thursday, 5 December, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia are back together with a new codeshare agreement.

Thursday, 5 December: The long-awaited reunion of Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand is now officially “official”, bringing enhanced travel options and seamless experiences for Virgin Australia passengers crossing the Tasman.

New codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia

From Monday, 9 December, Virgin Australia flights that are actually operated by Air New Zealand will have a VA codeshare flight number. This will cover flights across the Tasman into Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch, in addition to the flights Virgin Australia currently runs to Queenstown.

Velocity members, who are part of Virgin Australia’s frequent flyer scheme, can earn and redeem points on some 16 trans-Tasman flights. They will also receive status credits. Air NZ lounge access will also be available to Velocity, Gold, and above frequent flyers who travel on a VA-coded Air New Zealand flight.

Privileges for premium flyers will also include priority check-in and boarding and baggage allowance (+ 23kg).

Codeshare flights covered by the new agreement

The new agreement covers the following routes in alphabetical order by Australian city:

• Adelaide-Auckland
• Brisbane-Auckland
• Brisbane-Christchurch
• Brisbane-Wellington
• Cairns–Auckland (seasonal)
• Gold Coast-Auckland
• Gold Coast-Christchurch
• Hobart–Auckland (seasonal)
• Melbourne-Auckland
• Melbourne-Christchurch
• Melbourne-Wellington
• Perth–Auckland
• Sunshine Coast–Auckland (seasonal)
• Sydney-Auckland
• Sydney-Christchurch
• Sydney-Wellington

Also note that the new agreement between the two airlines does not include reciprocal rights for Air NZ Airpoints members to exercise with Virgin Australia points, status credits privileges or lounge access. Neither does it include Air New Zealand domestic flights within NZ.

History

This is not the first time Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand have had a codeshare agreement. They had a long partnership until October 2018, when Air NZ pulled out due to disagreements over strategy with the CEO John Borghetti.

As a consequence, Air New Zealand and Qantas inked a codeshare partnership, effectively isolating Virgin Australia.

Air New Zealand and Qantas

The Qantas agreement, which is believed to be unaffected by the new codeshare arrangement with Virgin, applies to 30 domestic New Zealand services with Qantas prefixes and 85 Australian domestic flights that will fly as Air NZ codeshares.

The Air New Zealand/Qantas tie-up does not include trans-Tasman or other international flights. However, Qantas and Air New Zealand flyers share reciprocal benefits, including earning and burning points, status credits, and lounge access. Also, some NZ Jetstar flights will have a QF codeshare number.

2PAXfly Takeout

Air New Zealand appears to be playing both sides of the Tasman, preserving a codeshare agreement with Qantas and forging a new one with Virgin Australia. This dual approach not only broadens Air New Zealand’s network but also offers passengers more choice and flexibility, albeit in a one-sided way.

Air New Zealand obviously likes it both ways. Now we just have to wait for those cabin upgrades.