Article from BTNews 4 JUNE 2018
Air New Zealand, Qantas in deal
Increasing demand for air travel on key routes to and from Australasia led Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand to sign a codeshare deal on Friday, even though they belong to different airline alliances.
The agreement covers 115 domestic routes in both countries, but not the trans-Tasman route, where the flag carriers compete. Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the deal “leverages the strengths we each have in our home markets”.
The head of Air New Zealand, Christopher Luxon, added that the two airlines “will continue to compete across all markets” as both companies benefit from a boom in international travel Down Under.
The increase has also spread to internal flights, with the overall result that Qantas declared a record profit in February, while Air New Zealand said it was headed for its second-highest annual profit ever.
Observers noted last week that the new agreement marked a change in airline alliances, with both Qantas and Air New Zealand having dropped or redrawn deals with Gulf carriers in recent months.
Qantas last year said it would drop flights to Emirates’ Dubai hub and re-establish its popular Singapore stopover for European flights, while Air New Zealand has ended a seven-year alliance with Virgin Australia Holdings.
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