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Virgin Australia today resumed its full codeshare partnership with Singapore Airlines following a COVID pause.
The two airlines have worked together since 2011, but Monday marked the first day that passengers could book directly through the Australian carrier’s website to seamlessly travel on Singapore’s network.
Codeshares are a more formal tie-up than interline service agreements and allow customers to connect using a single bag drop and booking, as well as share loyalty perks.
Virgin suspended all international flying on 30 March 2020 and has since relied on partnerships with larger carriers such as United and Qatar to fly longer-haul routes. It has though, restarted shorter services to Bali and Fiji and will soon fly to Vanuatu and Samoa.
The deal with Singapore opens up the carrier’s 42 destinations covering 23 countries, including Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Seoul in South Korea, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Paris in Europe, London in the United Kingdom and Jakarta in Indonesia.
In return, Singapore offers codeshares on 64 Australian routes covering 31 destinations on Virgin’s domestic and international network, including the recent addition of Queenstown in New Zealand.
“Effective immediately, customers are now able to book directly on virginaustralia.com for seamless travel between Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, and beyond,” said Virgin in a statement.
“The move is the next step in returning the carrier’s partnership to pre-pandemic operations, following the resumption of redemption bookings and mileage/points conversion for KrisFlyer and Velocity members earlier this year.
“While miles and points earned has remained unchanged throughout the pandemic, today’s announcement unlocks the full rewards and benefits of the partnership for customers as demand for international travel continues to improve.”
Last week, Australian Aviation reported how Virgin restarted flights to New Zealand for the first time in nearly 1,000 days.
The airline has now begun a daily service between both Sydney and Brisbane to Queenstown and a four-time weekly service from Melbourne.
The Victoria flights will increase to daily during the peak Christmas holiday period (12 December 2022 to 29 January 2023).
Chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said the restart marked a “significant day” for the airline.
“Australians and New Zealanders have a close bond and we are proud to be creating a new gateway between the countries for friends and family to visit each other, businesses to flourish and holiday-makers to seek adventure with more choice and great value airfares,” she said.
“Value, choice and great service are at the heart of Virgin Australia, and we look forward to bringing these values to Queenstown with our expanded network.”
