Virgin Australia and Hainan Airlines announce new codeshare partnership
This means new points opportunities and streamlined travel between Australia and mainland China.
Virgin Australia and Hainan Airlines have announced a new codeshare agreement that’ll allow a “streamlined travel experience” for guests flying between Australia and China.
Under the new partnership, guests travelling from China will have access to an expanded network of Virgin Australia connections over Australia and the trans-Tasman including Cairns, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.
If you’re travelling to China from Australia, you can take advantage of weekly Hainan-operated services from Sydney to Xi’an, Changsha and Haikou, from Melbourne to Xi’an and Changsha as well as services from Brisbane and Cairns to Shenzhen. These flights under the codeshare partnership will go on sale on 21 June 2018 for travel from 2 July 2018 onwards.
As well as more travel options, Velocity Frequent Flyers can also earn Velocity Points and Status Credits when flying with either airline under the codeshare. If you’re a Fortune Wings Club member, you can also earn points and Status Qualifying Points on these eligible flights.
Members of both frequent flyer programs can also enjoy additional customer benefits when travelling on all Hong Kong Airlines operated flights (excluding those travelling to and from North America) and on international services between Australia, New Zealand and Greater China on Tianjin Airlines and Capital Airlines.
You can also have a more seamless travel experience thanks to priority check-in and boarding as well as additional baggage allowances on flights between and within Australia, New Zealand and Greater China. Plus, you can travel in style thanks to access to lounges operated by Virgin Australia, Hainan Airlines and Hong Kong Airlines.
THE POINTS FINDER TAKE
This new partnership offers increased points potential as well as travel perks including lounge access, priority boarding and baggage allowances for Australians travelling to China.
This new partnership is an important move for Virgin Australia's growing travel offerings into Greater China.
“Virgin Australia is excited to partner with Hainan Airlines to extend our services into mainland China, and to build upon the success of our Hong Kong services,” said Virgin Australia Airline’s group executive Rob Sharp. “As the fourth largest and biggest independent airline in the country, we are confident that Hainan Airlines is the best partner for us to expand into Greater China with.”
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Pictures: Shutterstock, Virgin Australia