Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand to offer more routing choices

Sales will start on 12 December 2012.

In a release, Air New Zealand and Cathay Pacific announced a new strategic agreement on services operated by both airlines between New Zealand and Hong Kong, effective from 31 January 2013. Sales will commence on 12 December 2012.

The agreement between the two airlines has received the required regulatory approval and is expected to generate a wide range of benefits for consumers.

Under the new agreement, both airlines will code-share on all their services between New Zealand and Hong Kong, offering more routing choices to travellers. Improved and better-coordinated flight schedules are expected to increase connection opportunities and enhance connectivity to destinations in China via Hong Kong and beyond Auckland resulting in greater convenience for travellers.

Customers will also enjoy expanded opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer points or miles. Top-tier members from Air New Zealand’s Airpoints and Cathay Pacific’s The Marco Polo Club will enjoy reciprocal benefits when travelling on code-share flights, including lounge access, extra baggage allowances and many other priority services.

Consumers will benefit from a wider choice of fares between the gateway cities of Auckland/Hong Kong. Enhanced customer service is expected as a result of better-aligned operational procedures and increased opportunities for best-practice sharing.

Air New Zealand’s CEO Rob Fyfe, said: “Hong Kong is a key strategic Pacific Rim port and an important gateway to Mainland China for Air New Zealand. This agreement with Cathay Pacific will provide our passengers with a huge range of additional connections through Hong Kong to Mainland China, as well as access to better-value fares on these connections on Cathay Pacific or its sister airline Dragonair.

“We also believe that the benefits arising from this agreement will stimulate tourism from Mainland China to New Zealand through the enhanced connectivity between Cathay Pacific and Dragonair’s services to and from Mainland China with the new code-share services to New Zealand.”

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said: “We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Air New Zealand which will help us explore further the great potential of this market. This new agreement will open up a vast range of potential opportunities for the two airlines to maximize synergies and better meet customers’ needs.”