Virgin Blue and Etihad Airways have begun winding back their relationships with Emirates and Qantas respectively after the announcement of a wide ranging codeshare alliance between the two airlines.
Virgin Blue has announced that it will end its codeshare arrangement with Emirates on trans-Tasman services while it will also sever its loyalty program relationship. The codeshare agreement had provided more convenient connections for New Zealand passengers onto V Australia services to Los Angeles, but is no longer necessary due to the change in departure time from evening to morning. Virgin Blue and Emirates will retain an interline relationship, allowing passengers to connect between the two carriers.
It is also understood that Qantas has informed Etihad that it will cease its codeshare agreement, which saw Qantas place its code on Etihad services to Abu Dhabi while Etihad coded on Qantas domestic and trans-Tasman services. The move will see Qantas lose its connections to the Middle East, while Etihad will codeshare on Virgin Blue domestic and trans-Tasman services.
