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Air New Zealand departs Virgin alliance as Virgin adds Sydney-Hong Kong
April 6th 2018
Air New Zealand (Air NZ) this week said it would exit its trans-Tasman alliance with Virgin Australia from October 27. Read More »
Air NZ said changing market dynamics across the Tasman that made it more effective for the two carriers to operate their own flights.
“Australia is the largest source of inbound visitors to New Zealand and Air New Zealand has built up a significant presence in this market. This move will enable us to deliver a more consistent customer experience by using our own fleet and delivering an improved schedule, which we’ll provide more details about shortly,” said Air NZ chief revenue officer, Cam Wallace.
Air NZ has sold all its shares in Virgin Australia after previously being the largest shareholder in the Brisbane-based carrier. Virgin Australia Group CEO, John Borghetti, said the airline would maintain capacity across the Tasman and also would consider flying its budget subsidiary, Tigerair, into New Zealand. The Air NZ-Virgin-Australia alliance did not allow for this.
“We have a contingency plan in place, which is being pulled off the shelf and we’ll be implementing it,” Borghetti said. “We compete on so many routes with so many very, very strong competitors. This is just one more.”
Air NZ holds approximately 35% of the trans-Tasman market followed by Qantas Airways (roughly 30%) and Virgin (15%).
Separately this week, Virgin announced its second route to Hong Kong. From July 2, the carrier will launch daily Sydney-Hong Kong A330-200 flights, adding to daily flights from Melbourne that were launched last year.
