Virgin Australia has inked a new codeshare pact with Hainan Airlines offering Chinese travellers access to an expanded network within Australia and onward to New Zealand.
The partnership gives Hainan fliers through ticketing to Cairns, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.
The pact also includes Hainan’s services to and from Sydney to Xi’an, Changsha and Haikou, from Melbourne to Xi’an and Changsha and from Brisbane and Cairns to Shenzhen.
All include one stop baggage drop and check-in on a single reservation.
"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. We are confident that Hainan Airlines is the best partner for us to expand into Greater China with," said Virgin Australia group executive, Rob Sharp.
Members of Virgin’s Velocity and Hainan’s Fortune Wings Club will earn points when flying on codeshare services on either airline.
The codeshare partnership commences for travel from July 2 onwards.
"Hainan Airlines is delighted to be working with Virgin Australia under the codeshare. These services will not only help to boost tourism in each country, but they will also provide guests with an exceptional travel experience," said Hainan Airlines CEO Jeff Sun.
