Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand launch fresh alliance

Former partners Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand will launch a fresh alliance which the airlines promise will unlock more seamless travel while boosting the appeal of Virgin’s Velocity frequent flyer program.

Under the rebooted trans-Tasman partnership, passengers will earn Velocity points and status credits on AirNZ flights sporting a VA flight number between Australia and New Zealand, and will also be able to use Velocity points to book those Air New Zealand flights.

Travellers will able to directly book Air New Zealand flights into Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch from the Virgin Australia website and app.

In addition, Velocity Golds and Platinums – along with members of the invite-only Beyond program – will enjoy access to the Kiwi carrier’s lounges when travelling on VA-coded Air New Zealand flights.

Following approval by Australian and New Zealand regulators, the new alliance – described as “a unilateral trans-Tasman codeshare agreement” – will launch “before the end of the year.”

“The regulators’ endorsement reflects the strong consumer benefits the partnership will unlock, including greater value, choice and loyalty rewards for travellers across the Tasman,” says Virgin Australia Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Alistair Hartley.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said the competition watchdog is satisfied that the pairing will provide “more ticketing and price options on trans-Tasman routes”, with both airlines “able to jointly offer discounts and a range of marketing options to businesses.”

However, Virgin's existing flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to Queenstown are not part of the alliance, with Virgin and Air New Zealand effectively remaining as competitors on those routes.

And this is effectively a one-way arrangement, without any reciprocal benefits – such as points earning or lounge access – for Air New Zealand’s own frequent flyers when travelling on a Virgin Australia flight.

Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand enjoyed a long and deep partnership until October  2018, when the Kiwi carrier pulled out of the alliance over disagreement with Virgin Australia’s direction under then-CEO John Borghetti.

Qantas unexpectedly swooped in to ink a new alliance with the Star Alliance member, although this was restricted to a codeshare on domestic flights within Australia and New Zealand, rather than flights between the two countries.

Executive Traveller understands the Qantas-Air New Zealand domestic partnership will not be impacted by this trans-Tasman agreement between Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand.