The FINANCIAL — Alitalia and Virgin Australia have strengthened their codeshare agreement to offer Italian air travellers eight new Australian destinations.
Alitalia from today will place its “AZ” code on a range of Virgin Australia selected flights from Sydney to eight new destinations: Adelaide, Ballina, Coffs Harbour, Gold Coast, Hobart, Sunshine Coast, Melbourne and Perth.
A codeshare agreement between the two airlines is already in place on flights from Abu Dhabi to Sydney and beyond to Brisbane, according to Alitalia.
Similarly, Virgin Australia will place its “VA” flight code on Alitalia operated flights from Rome to 11 Italian cities – Bari, Bologna, Catania, Florence, Genoa, Lamezia Terme, Naples, Palermo, Reggio Calabria, Turin and Venice – in addition to the current codeshared services between Rome and Milan to Abu Dhabi where passengers transfer from one airline to the other.
Members of Alitalia’s MilleMiglia loyalty programme can earn and redeem miles on the entire Virgin Australia network and eligible members can enjoy lounge access at airports, priority check-in and increased baggage allowances.
John Shepley, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, Alitalia said: “The expanded cooperation with Virgin Australia will provide Italian air travellers with a wider range of Australian destinations for business travel and holidaymakers to bring Italy and Australia even closer. And this new arrangement opens up a variety of Italian cities throughout the whole country for Australian flyers.”
The codeshare agreement means travellers can benefit from a single ticket for the entire journey with luggage checked-in at the departure airport and delivered to the final destination.
The new codeshare flights are now available for sale through the airlines’ reservation systems, as well as in travel agencies.
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