Dubai-based airline, Emirates, and Virgin Blue Group’s new international airline, V Australia, announced a code share partnership on the trans-Tasman route, effective 25 October 2009.
The code share agreement – Emirates’ first with an Australian carrier – signals yet another initiative in the airline’s commitment to Australia. It also confirms Emirates as V Australia’s first code share partner.
The new agreement will provide V Australia guests seamless connections when travelling between New Zealand and the USA. Passengers can travel on the Trans-Tasman sector using Emirates’ award-winning service and connect conveniently to/from V Australia’s international service between Sydney and Los Angeles.
Emirates flights, EK419 arriving from Christchurch into Sydney at 6.20pm or EK 413 arriving from Auckland at 8.05pm connect seamlessly with V Australia’s Los Angeles service, VA1, at 9.05pm.
Richard Jewsbury, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Far East and Australasia noted: “Emirates is prudent when it comes to choosing code share partners and our decision to join hands with V Australia is further demonstration of our commitment to the Australian aviation industry. We are pleased to finalise this agreement ahead of the peak summer travelling season, and expect the services to be extremely popular with leisure and business travellers seeking quick onward connections to/from V Australia’s international Sydney operations.”
Emirates offers a full-service, top-of-the-range product that aligns well with V Australia’s offering, and ensures a consistent high-quality experience on the entire New Zealand – USA journey”.
Brett Godfrey, Chief Executive, Virgin Blue said: “Emirates is a highly regarded, world-class carrier and we are delighted to confirm Emirates as V Australia’s first code share partner. The two carriers are an ideal fit in that they share the same commitment to quality and service and we very much look forward to working further with Emirates.”
Emirates and the Virgin Blue Group already share a strong partnership via reciprocal benefits within the two airline’s frequent flyer programmes – Skywards and Velocity respectively. Emirates is also an interline partner of Virgin Blue.
Currently, Emirates has code share agreements with Air India, Air Malta, Air Mauritius, Continental Airlines, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, Korean Airlines, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, South African Airways and Thai Airways.
Emirates operates services to 60 countries in Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific. From Malta the airline flies daily to Dubai with a stopover in Larnaca, Cyprus. The Malta route gives a convenient connection to outgoing and incoming passengers from Australia. For flight details and information on bookings and fares, please visit www.emirates.com