Saturday 26 June 2010

Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue share deal will be good news for Cairns

Combining Air New Zealand's 26 domestic destinations with Virgin Blue's 32 domestic Australian will give trans-Tasman travellers more options.

This is the claim of the two domestic airline players as they plan a code share agreement, ready in the next few months.

"Whether it's Blenheim to Broome or Tauranga to Townsville - ticketing, bag transfers and schedules could all be seamless," so reads the marketing hype.

Part of the plan is to use the combined resources to grow the 58 destinations across New Zealand and Australia, increase frequency and new direct routes.

Air New Zealand and Virgin Blue are still seeking regulatory approval to create the new alliance on the trans-Tasman route. They says it will allow both to "strengthen their competitive offering and to collaborate on future route planning," as well as code sharing. This hopefully means cheaper airfares, more flights, and better connections to places we want.

It is expected that approval will be granted before Christmas.

1 comment:

CBD Warrior said...

I'm in complete support of anything making it easier for Kiwi's to LEAVE.