Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines will begin their alliance on January 6 2015, the first day of the Kiwi flag carrier’s return to Singapore.
Under the tie-up, the two carriers will codeshare on each other’s flights between Auckland and Singapore, offering a double-daily frequency on the route as well as connections beyond Singapore to Asia and Europe and beyond Auckland to destinations across the Pacific.
Air NZ will also place its NZ airline code on Singapore Airlines’ daily Singapore-Christchurch flight.
Tickets for the new codeshare flights go on sale from September 25, the two airlines said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Air NZ’s return to Singapore on January 6 represented the airline’s return to the city-state after an eight-year gap. It will take over one of Singapore Airlines’ twice-daily Auckland-Singapore service using Boeing 777-200ER aircraft.
The two Star Alliance airlines hope to increase capacity between New Zealand and Singapore by 30 per cent under the partnership.
“By working closely together we hope we can further stimulate the market and drive visitor numbers from both ends of the route,” Air NZ chief executive Christopher Luxon said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong said the alliance was a “clear example of how our two airlines can do more by working together than we could do individually”.
The Singaporean flag carrier was scheduled to deploy the Airbus A380 over the Southern Hemisphere summer season, beginning on October 27.
