Air NZ, United enter revenue sharing deal
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Air New Zealand and United Airlines have entered into a revenue sharing agreement on routes between New Zealand and the US.
Under the new alliance, the two companies will work together to promote and sell each other’s flights between New Zealand and the US mainland, plus domestic feeder services in both countries.
The agreement will come into effect when United launches its new San Francisco-Auckland service on 1 July 2016.
“The United States is New Zealand’s third largest tourism source market, contributing almost a billion dollars to our economy in the past financial year,” said Air New Zealand’s CEO, Christopher Luxon. “We know this is just the tip of the iceberg though, with around 30 million Americans actively considering New Zealand as a holiday destination.
“To have a strong home market carrier like United Airlines working with us to grow this market through its extensive sales and distribution channels in the US will provide a significant boost to inbound tourism,” he added.
The revenue sharing agreement follows 15 years of cooperation between the two carriers. Air New Zealand and United have worked together since 2001 through codesharing, frequent flyer and distribution partnerships.
Air New Zealand currently codeshares with United on its domestic US network and to international destinations including Australia and London. Likewise, United codeshares on Air New Zealand’s domestic network, along with flights to and from Australia, the Pacific Islands and the US.
Subject to government approvals, United will start operating three weekly flights between San Francisco and Auckland in July using its Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. This will increase to a daily service using the larger B787-9 aircraft in November 2016.
Air New Zealand currently operates direct to five North American gateways: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Honolulu and Vancouver.
“Together, United and Air New Zealand will offer customers more seamless connections between New Zealand and cities across the US than any of our competitors,” said United’s vice chairman & chief revenue officer, Jim Compton.
United and Air New Zealand are both members of the Star Alliance.
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