Virgin Australia, Virgin Atlantic win codeshare approval

Virgin Australia and UK long-haul carrier Virgin Atlantic have gained permission to codeshare on the Australian carrier’s flights from Hong Kong and the US to Australia. Australia’s International Air Services Commission (IASC) granted approval for the codesharing under terms of the relevant bilateral agreements. In each case, the IASC determined it is unlikely there will be any harm to competition, and the deal would add to the number of carriers serving these routes. Virgin Australia operates a daily flight from Melbourne to Hong Kong, and is seeking slots to add a Sydney-Hong Kong service. Virgin Atlantic serves Hong Kong from London Heathrow Airport. Highlighting the competition in the Hong Kong-Australia market, the IASC noted that Cathay Pacific Airways operates up to 72 weekly flights and Qantas up to 28 weekly flights. In the US market, Virgin Australia operates routes to Los Angeles from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Virgin Atlantic flies to Los Angeles from London Heathrow, in addition to other US markets. The IASC imposed a condition in each market that the two airlines must “take all reasonable steps to ensure that passengers are informed of the carrier that is actually operating the flight.”<br/>