Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand are set to launch a new partnership on Trans-Tasman flights. The move comes following the authorisation of a codeshare agreement between the two airlines. The new partnership has been sometime in the making while waiting for approval. The good news is that approval has been given by regulators on both sides of the Tasman.
Having said that, a formal start date has not been announced. According to Virgin Australia Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Alistair Hartley
Australians share our love of New Zealand and its national carrier and we can’t wait to reignite this partnership before the end of the year
Benefits for Velocity Members
First up, it is worth noting that this is a unilateral partnership. That is to say that Virgin Australia will place its flight numbers on selected Air New Zealand flights, but not the other way around. This still provides benefits to Virgin Australia and, in particular, Velocity members. Some of these benefits include
- Virgin Australia flight numbers will be available on Air New Zealand’s flights from Australia into Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington. They will not be on other services For example, the partnership does not extend as far as flights to Queenstown where the two airlines will remain competitors.
- Velocity Frequent Flyer members will be able to earn and redeem points on these services
- It will provide the ability for Gold and Platinum members to access lounges when flying Trans-Tasman.
The finer details of this partnership are yet to come out as there is little detail on just how Velocity members will receive their benefits. For example, it may be that they will need to be on the codeshare flight number to gain lounge access.
