Air New Zealand plans for Auckland lounge upgrades and Virgin Australia partnership

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW | Air New Zealand is actively preparing for the next stage of its growth, with upgrades planned on every front. From new ‘Skynest’ bunk bed facilities and tech-focused catering waste reduction to an upgraded home hub lounge, the carrier is conscious to continue innovating.

But with the new comes the not-so-new. Air NZ is in the process of reigniting an old flame with its former partner, Virgin Australia. To learn more about what’s up and coming, I catch up with Leanne Geraghty. She’s Air NZ’s Chief Customer and Sales Officer, who’s visiting Brisbane for the CAPA Airline Leader Summit where we sit down for a chat.

Air New Zealand’s Auckland lounge to get an upgrade

Air New Zealand’s home hub international lounge certainly sits as a vast improvement to the fitout that preceded it. Whereas the previous space was big on beanbags and TV screens, the present space represents a younger, funkier vibe – while still being functional for business and leisure travellers alike.

Even so though, the current lounge made its debut back in 2015. Air New Zealand feels it’s now time for another upgrade. ‘Our lounge program generally works on a timeframe for lounges of around a seven-to-nine-year cycle,’ Geraghty explains. ‘So, we have actually hit that threshold.’

‘But what we’re finding is the bigger pain point, particularly in Auckland International, is just space constraints. And so we know we need more space. With the Auckland Airport redevelopment, a new lounge space is a part of that, and we’re underway with that.’

‘We will retain the existing lounge we have, and then there will be additional space. We’ve got our preliminary designs almost complete. It’s really exciting to know that over the next 18 months to two years, we’ll have a new offering there.’

While I happen to stop by on a quiet day, the lounge is usually much busier here in Auckland.

Air New Zealand will make its Auckland lounge larger to cater for the crowds at peak times.

Air New Zealand’s current international lounge just isn’t large enough for the airline’s future needs.

Growing ties with Virgin Australia while maintaining Qantas partnership

Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia were previously close partners. But the airlines parted ways in 2019. In place of that tie-up, Air New Zealand forged links with Qantas. While the airlines remain competitors across the Tasman, the NZ/Qantas deal unlocked reciprocal codesharing across the airlines’ domestic networks. It also made it possible for frequent flyers to enjoy benefits like lounge access prior to eligible flights.

But more recently, Air NZ has signed up for a new partnership with Virgin Australia. It’s not quite an upgrade to the partnership Air New Zealand had with Virgin previously, but it’s one that nevertheless allows for codesharing and some frequent flyer benefits.

This puts Air New Zealand in the interesting position of having friendships with both of Australia’s main airlines. So it begs the question, is the partnership with Qantas going to stand the test of time?

‘We still have our partnership with Qantas,’ Geraghty assures. ‘The partnership with Virgin is a codeshare arrangement, so it’s very different to the prior alliance arrangement we’ve had with them.’ As for the new Virgin deal, it ‘essentially enables people to book Air New Zealand flights through Virgin, from Australia point of sale only.’

Geraghty explains that Velocity members will be able to ‘earn and burn Velocity Points on our flights. And for eligible customers, they’ll have access to our lounges. So quite a different arrangement to the previous one (with Virgin Australia). But we are really pleased to have it in place. And our Qantas arrangement continues, as it has been.’

Also read: Virgin Australia gets green light for Air New Zealand partnership

Photography by Chris Chamberlin, except where otherwise credited. Chris Chamberlin attended the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Brisbane as a guest of CAPA Centre for Aviation.