Etihad Airways has officially called time on its codeshare and frequent flyer partnership with Virgin Australia. In doing so they have announced the termination of its partnership is effective 1 June 2025. According to a statement, “The decision reflects a divergence in the strategic direction of the respective airlines”
This development has been expected ever since Qatar Airways announced its intention to take a 25% stake in Virgin Australia. In their submission to the ACCC it was stated that upon approval Qatar Airways would become Virgin Australia’s exclusive Middle East partner.
Virgin Australia for its part had most recently said that the partnership with Etihad would come to an end in late 2025, if the conduct with Qatar was approved. It seems Etihad have made their own move on this.
Effect on Passengers
Following the split on 1 June 2025, passengers will no longer be able to book Virgin Australia-operated flights through Etihad’s booking channels.
While any existing bookings will still stand, Etihad Guest members will not earn Guest Miles on Virgin Australia-operated flights from 1 June 2025 onwards. Obviously, this will impact on those people that preferred Etihad over the other alternatives.
Qatar Tie -Up
As mentioned, the proposal for Qatar to take a 25% stake in Virgin Australia seems pivotal to Etihad pulling the plug. The proposal is quite specific about Qatar Airways being the exclusive partner on flights to the Middle East, Europe and Africa.
That said, the proposal is still just that – a proposal. Nevertheless, it seems that Etihad didn’t see a future with Virgin Australia regardless of the outcome.
Other changes – Singapore Airlines
A point of discussion around the traps is just how much this would affect the relationship between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines. In response to submissions to the ACCC, Virgin Australia (or at least their lawyers) write that Virgin Australia will
amend its codeshare agreement with Singapore Airlines to remove EMEA as codeshare destinations.
However, there will be no changes to Virgin Australia’s loyalty arrangements with Singapore Airlines and Velocity members will continue to be able to:
- earn Velocity Points and status credits when flying with Singapore Airlines (across all Singapore Airlines routes, including to and from EMEA); and
- redeem Velocity Points for Singapore Airlines seats (across all Singapore Airlines routes, including to and from EMEA).
Final Words
It’s probably not an unexpected development, and Etihad have decided to move away from Virgin Australis regardless of outcome.
Virgin Australia have also recently clarified that the only impacts on the partnership with SIngapore Airlines is to remove codeshares between Australia and EMEA. In any case, Virgin says they only sell a small number of seats on these flights.
