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Qantas and Air New Zealand will end their codeshare and frequent flyer partnership next year as the Kiwi carrier prepares to switch allegiance to Virgin Australia.
Virgin and Air New Zealand have applied to expand their existing commercial partnership, allowing their respective frequent flyers greater access to each other’s reward seats, as well as expanded codeshare services beyond the trans-Tasman.
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“If authorised, the expanded partnership is expected to provide customers of both airlines with additional loyalty benefits and seamless connectivity to a broader range of destinations,” the two carriers said in a joint statement.
“The existing partnership does not currently extend reciprocal booking access or loyalty benefits to Air New Zealand customers on Virgin Australia-operated services.”
An Air New Zealand spokesperson has hailed the application as “an important step in strengthening our trans-Tasman network and providing customers with more choice and better connections between New Zealand and Australia”.
“If approved, Virgin Australia would become Air New Zealand’s principal airline partner for domestic flights and connections within Australia, making it easier for customers to travel from New Zealand to destinations across Virgin Australia’s extensive Australian domestic network on a single itinerary,” the spokesperson said.
“Virgin Australia operates frequent flights to a wide range of Australian destinations, covering the places Air New Zealand customers travel to most. Around 90% of Air New Zealand customers connecting to domestic flights within Australia travel to destinations served by Virgin Australia.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to deepen our partnership with Virgin Australia and deliver more seamless connections, greater travel choice and additional loyalty benefits for customers on both sides of the Tasman.”
The current Qantas-Air New Zealand partnership will end next April, removing access to Air New Zealand frequent flyer redemptions and lounge access for Qantas passengers. Air New Zealand currently accounts for around 0.09 per cent of Qantas Frequent Flyer reward seat bookings.
Since the Qantas-Air New Zealand alliance began in 2018, Qantas and Jetstar have increased trans-Tasman capacity by 35 per cent and added a dozen new direct routes while also increasing domestic Jetstar services in New Zealand.
“Our partnership with Air New Zealand was right for the times, but with significant growth in Qantas and Jetstar trans-Tasman flights, and Jetstar’s domestic New Zealand services growing, more customers are flying direct,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“Qantas Frequent Flyers continue to have access to one of the largest airline partner networks in the world, with more than 20 million reward seats and 30 partner airlines they can use their points with.”
Air New Zealand posted a $200 million post-tax loss in FY2025–26.
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