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Qantas and Emirates will fulfill their strategy to expand their alliance to trans-Tasman services when the two airlines open routes between Australia and New Zealand to aligned fares, frequent flyer benefits and codeshare arrangements from August 14.
Together, the airlines will operate around 130 services per week from Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown to Australian east coast cities – then onwards to more than 65 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. Existing capacity on trans-Tasman routes that both Qantas and Emirates fly has been guaranteed as part of regulatory approvals.
Emirates’ trans-Tasman services are operated by the A380 and 777, while Qantas’s services are operated by Boeing 737-800s (operated by its New Zealand-based Jetconnect subsidiary).
“New Zealand was part of the Qantas-Emirates vision from the start and since receiving government approval in May our teams have been working hard towards switching the partnership on,” Qantas executive manager, international sales Stephen Thompson said.
The airline also noted that Wellington and Queenstown in particular would benefit “considerably” from the alliance, as they will become part of the Emirates network for the first time.
Emirates described the additional services as “a key piece of the Emirates-Qantas jigsaw” that would further strengthen the airline’s products under the alliance.
Said Barry Brown, Emirates’ divisional senior vice president: “From New Zealand, we will now be able to offer travel out of Wellington and Queenstown, in addition to Auckland and Christchurch. Overall, weekly departures from New Zealand will go from 28 to over 140, jointly reaching 55 points in Australia, and of course, onwards to our magnificent hub in Dubai.”
Customers on trans-Tasman alliance services will receive the benefits of existing frequent flyer earning and redemption as well as lounge access.
The airlines will offer harmonised baggage policies including a 30kg allowance for economy passengers.
John Harrison
says:Here we go again, showing who is winning in this alliance, and if I was a passenger travelling to NZ. I know who’s aircraft I would want to fly to NZ in, give me a AB380 or B777 over a B737-800 anyday.
Ante
says:This is great for Qantas, but now there’s inconsistency. The A380 is very different to the B737
Patrick Kilby
says:John are you saying the cramped 777 is superior to the 737-800 with all mod cons: spare us!!!