News
Virgin Australia announces new trans-Tasman routes
April 20th 2018
Virgin Australia will launch two new trans-Tasman routes in October and increase frequencies on a number of existing routes following the termination of its alliance with Air New Zealand (Air NZ). Read More »
From October 28, Virgin Australia will add Sydney-Wellington five times a week and Melbourne-Queenstown four a week. The former route is now served by Air NZ and Qantas Airways and the latter by Air NZ and Jetstar.
From the same date, the John Borghetti-led carrier will increase frequencies from Auckland to Brisbane and Sydney to three daily and to Melbourne twice daily. It also will cut back frequencies from Melbourne to Christchurch and Brisbane-Wellington.
Earlier this month, Air NZ announced it would exit its trans-Tasman alliance with Brisbane-headquartered Virgin Australia on October 27. The carrier said changed market conditions across the Tasman made it more effective for both 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, of which we’ll provide more details about shortly,” said Air NZ chief revenue officer, Cam Wallace.
Air NZ has since announced several new trans-Tasman routes and frequency increases on current routes, which will boost its capacity in the Australia-New Zealand market by 15%.
