Hong Kong Airlines and Virgin Australia have teamed up to form a codeshare agreement as the first step in its proposed strategic alliance.
The codeshare pact will offer cross carrier connectivity for customers on 11 routes in Asia Pacific.
Under the agreement Virgin will market services on Hong Kong Airlines’ five return services per week between Hong Kong and the Gold Coast and Cairns, Australia.
Customers can also book onward travel to mainland China under an interline agreement with HK Airlines.
Hong Kong Airlines customers can book through tickets across Australia and New Zealand via Virgin services including Brisbane, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.
Members of Hong Kong Airlines’ Fortune Wings Club and Virgin’s Velocity frequent flyer programmes also earn points on eligible flights in the agreement which begins on July 5.
"The alliance with Virgin Australia is one of the major steps of Hong Kong Airlines’ globalisation strategy in turning ourselves from a regional airline to an international carrier. Following our launch of Gold Coast and Cairns routes in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand and Vancouver in Canada, we strive to expand our network coverage to a wider region," said Zhang Kui, co-chairman of Hong Kong Airlines.
