Australian authorities have granted an alliance between the country’s budget airline Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand.
Regulators gave permission for the carriers to co-ordinate prices, schedules, capacity and routes between the two countries.
The alliance had initially been rejected in a draft decision in September, but the regulators said it now had more information about the impact on customers and had decided to give the go-ahead.
The airlines had to agree to make more seats available on certain flights to prevent the airlines from raising ticket prices.
After the announcement, Virgin Blue shares rose by 5.9%.
