Virgin inks Air Canada codeshare deal

The new deal brings Virgin’s codesharing partners to six: Qatar Airways, United Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, ANA, and Air Canada. In a LinkedIn post, Virgin said the codeshare would allow “seamless travel” between Australia and Canada.

“We have been strategic partners with the national carrier of Canada since 2017, and from today, our customers can book flights on a single ticket at www.virginaustralia.com to the country’s most iconic destinations, including Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and more,” the airline said.

“Velocity Frequent Flyer members can continue to earn and redeem Points when travelling on eligible Air Canada services between Australia and Canada, the United States and Central America.

“Our customers can now travel to more than 500 destinations around the world on services operated by Virgin Australia and our partner airlines.”

Air Canada offers direct flights from Brisbane and Sydney to Vancouver, after which passengers can connect onwards through Canada’s domestic network.

Virgin in 2021 broke its long-standing codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines and switched to rival United, which was the only American airline flying commercially between the two countries during the height of the pandemic, and still today offers more flights than any other US carrier.

At the time, Virgin Australia Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said, “Virgin Australia customers will have significantly more options for travel from Australia to the States, with more than three-times as many services available to them, which is great news for Australian travellers.”

Virgin rival Qantas has no Canadian partner airlines, but offers its own direct flights between Sydney and Vancouver, as well as connecting flights via the US through its codeshare partner American Airlines.