Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia Bid to Expand Codeshare

Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have submitted a bid to the New Zealand Minister of Transport to expand their existing codeshare agreement. The airlines intend to create a competitive constraint against the Qantas Group, which they argue holds a structural advantage across domestic Australian, New Zealand, and transtasman operations.

If regulators approve the deal, the partnership would allow reciprocal codesharing on transtasman services, with the exception of Queenstown. This arrangement would enable passengers to book seamless travel between the domestic New Zealand network of Air New Zealand and the domestic Australian network of Virgin Australia on a single itinerary.

The proposal follows the decision to terminate the codeshare partnership between Air New Zealand and Qantas on April 7, 2027. The airlines claim the new agreement will provide public benefits, including potentially lower fares and enhanced loyalty integration between the Airpoints and Koru programs of Air New Zealand and the Velocity program of Virgin Australia.