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United to partner with Virgin Australia -- UA elite benefits starting 23 May 2022
Virgin Australia will end its long-standing relationship with Delta Air Lines in early 2022, with United Airlines stepping in to become Virgin's new US partner. Commencing in April 2022, the partnership will include codeshare flights as well as reciprocal loyalty benefits members of Virgin's Velocity Frequent Flyer and United's MileagePlus programs. Those perks will include earning Velocity points and status credits on UA flights plus access to domestic United Club lounges; United's elite tier members will gain access to Virgin lounges when they head down under. |
Might be useful at some point, but I'm a Qantas guy.
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Fantastic news for onward connections from SYD. In the past I connected to VA anyway to go to Perth.
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That’s good news. One of the best meals that I’ve had on a plane in recent years was on a Virgin Australia flight, SYD-AYQ, in First. Wines were pretty good, also. Much better than what is served on UA & LH in J.
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Originally Posted by FLYMSY
(Post 33809388)
That’s good news. One of the best meals that I’ve had on a plane in recent years was on a Virgin Australia flight, SYD-AYQ, in First. Wines were pretty good, also. Much better than what is served on UA & LH in J.
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Ha, maybe I can use the $1500 in Travel Credits I have with VA now. Moneys been locked up with them for two years in their locked down country.
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Whenever it becomes easier to travel back to that part of the world, that’ll be real nice. Combine that with NZ being in *A and it definitely puts UA in pole position for Oceania airline partnerships.
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That is GREAT news! But really surprising given Delta's tie-in with VS. VA will be great for extra US-OZ options but more importantly for onward flights from MEL and SYD! Great award ops as well with NZ and VA :)
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Originally Posted by cfischer
(Post 33809691)
...But really surprising given Delta's tie-in with VS...
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Excellent news! Australia has always been a black hole for domestic flights for *A members. ✈️
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Originally Posted by IAH-OIL-TRASH
(Post 33809956)
Actually, as almost a seperate entity, it allows VA to be like HA - a regional air slut, entertaining all offers to partner.
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Originally Posted by restlessinRNO
(Post 33809960)
Excellent news! Australia has always been a black hole for domestic flights for *A members. ✈️
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The relevant parts of the email that Virgin just sent out :
As domestic border restrictions ease and the world slowly re-opens to Australia, we are committed to creating more ways to get you to wherever your heart desires. United Airlines to join the Virgin Australia Group family Today, I’m excited to share that we have announced a long term strategic frequent flyer and codeshare partnership with United Airlines which will be phased into the Virgin Australia family from April next year. Not only is United a fantastic brand fit for Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer, but they offer the most flights between Australia and North America out of any other US-based carrier. The partnership with United will triple our network reach into the Americas, which means you’ll have access to new destinations when flying from Australia to the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and South America. As United ramps up more services to Australia next year, they will continue to offer direct flights between Melbourne and Sydney and Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston, so you’ll have even more flight options and connecting points, making it a lot easier to get to your final destination. You’ll also earn Velocity Points and Status Credits, and eligible members will receive tier benefits when travelling with United. Reward Seat availability is another significant benefit of the partnership, so you’ll be able to use your Points to redeem seats on United’s vast domestic and international network. This is another example of how we are doing things differently to make travelling with us easier and more seamless, while continuing to provide great value whenever and however you choose to fly. We look forward to sharing more details on the partnership before it launches in April 2022. |
This is good news for UA flyers. When Ansett Australia went under, Star Alliance only was only left with the major cities covered.
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Holy Moly. That will change the air travel landscape in Oz....
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Fantastic news.
VA is my choice down-under. For years, I have been using my SQ PPS to access its lounge and earn SQ miles. With Covid and less flying on SQ, I now have UA to maintain elite benefits when flying VA. |
I fly a heap with VA and QF and the meals on VA now are often as good as before. The lounges have undergone a transformation in ADL and MEL with other to be spruced up in the coming months. Food in the lounges is far better now. I find the food, beverages and service on VA to be far better than QF personally
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This is very significant! Came out of nowhere (for me). Great to hear.
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Add me to the list of those happy to see this news. I used to head down under 1-3x a year before Covid and always wanted better options to hop around. I do wonder what DL is going to do.
Originally Posted by UA_Flyer
(Post 33810513)
VS is my choice down-under. For years, I have been using my SQ PPS to access its lounge and earn SQ miles. With Covid and less flying on SQ, I now have UA to maintain elite benefits when flying VS.
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Originally Posted by gooseman13
(Post 33809454)
Was that pre or post VA bankruptcy?
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One of the best airplane meals in domestic J I’ve had was on a 2 hour flight from SYD to LST. Was a cheap upgrade too (about A$250). VA also runs great lounges.
Downsides? I liked QF a bit better for last minute business travel, generally more flexible and less strict about last minute changes. But UA’s connections to domestic QF flights seem to always be really bad. I also liked crediting DL flights to VA as the status points accrued quickly with Comfort+ or domestic First Class DL tickets. Overall this is great news for UA flyers especially who want to get to places like BNE, MCY… or like LST or BWT. |
Originally Posted by uanj
(Post 33810449)
Holy Moly. That will change the air travel landscape in Oz....
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Originally Posted by docbert
(Post 33811677)
Will it? It'll change the landscape for UA flyers, but that's about it. VA had a similar partnership with Delta up to now, which they are breaking as a part of this. From the perspective of most Australian travelers, this (at least initially) is simply a change in carrier for the US segments, and possibly for the AU->US segment (but VA used to fly that themselves too). Of course, if this proceeds to more (eg, VA joining Star Alliance) then yes, that's a real change.
For your typical Australian flyer who is not UA loyal, this just means a few more connection options. |
Keep in mind the new agreement is just a codeshare and FF reciprocation deal. It's not a JBA like the outgoing DL/VA deal.
Chances are that the new UA/VA partnership will likely remain as a codeshare and FF deal past the initial intro period, unless if the QF/NZ codeshare partnership dissolves to enable a 3-way JBA with NZ. The chances of the QF/NZ codeshare partnership dissolving is likely to remain low for the foreseeable future considering reports that NZ's codeshare partnership with QF was bringing more revenue than NZ's former JBA partnership with VA pre-pandemic. |
Originally Posted by cfischer
(Post 33809691)
That is GREAT news! But really surprising given Delta's tie-in with VS. VA will be great for extra US-OZ options but more importantly for onward flights from MEL and SYD! Great award ops as well with NZ and VA :)
Read that VA no longer flies to the US. Too bad. But yeah, one of the flights I took was SYD-AKL and they served the most perfect salmon filet anywhere. Certainly on any plane but maybe in the restaurants I've been to as well. Before their bankruptcy, presumably. |
Originally Posted by docbert
(Post 33811677)
Will it? It'll change the landscape for UA flyers, but that's about it. VA had a similar partnership with Delta up to now, which they are breaking as a part of this. From the perspective of most Australian travelers, this (at least initially) is simply a change in carrier for the US segments, and possibly for the AU->US segment (but VA used to fly that themselves too). Of course, if this proceeds to more (eg, VA joining Star Alliance) then yes, that's a real change.
VA is emerging from bankruptcy and needs to focus on their core business. From their side I can see why they are looking for a partner who will deliver the most passengers into their domestic system. DL with one flight a day is of limited benefit. |
Apart from DL being the biggest loser, the other loser would have to be BNE/Queensland, leaving BNE-USA as a QF monopoly.
No immediate plans by UA to fly to BNE for the short term, and will rely on VA codeshares for the foreseeable future. Only chance of UA entering BNE in the short term is if the Queensland State Premier offers taxpayer money UA's way to start BNE to LAX or SFO under the Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which would effectively make the UA flight from BNE a (Queensland) taxpayer funded lease/charter. |
Originally Posted by autobahnal
(Post 33809371)
Fantastic news for onward connections from SYD. In the past I connected to VA anyway to go to Perth.
Originally Posted by FLYMSY
(Post 33809388)
That’s good news. One of the best meals that I’ve had on a plane in recent years was on a Virgin Australia flight, SYD-AYQ, in First. Wines were pretty good, also. Much better than what is served on UA & LH in J.
Originally Posted by docbert
(Post 33810115)
Well, not "always". But certainly for the past 20 years, 3 months and 1 day. But who's counting...
Originally Posted by uanj
(Post 33810449)
Holy Moly. That will change the air travel landscape in Oz....
VA long haul to USA now even further in the future, if at all.
Originally Posted by exp
(Post 33813021)
Read that VA no longer flies to the US.
Too bad. But yeah, one of the flights I took was SYD-AKL and they served the most perfect salmon filet anywhere. Certainly on any plane but maybe in the restaurants I've been to as well. Before their bankruptcy, presumably. VA2 have stated are planning to resume flying trans Tasman to NZ. SYD-AKL is closer than SYD-PER From VA Newsroom (14 Dec 21)--->Virgin Australia takes flight with United Airlines
Commencing in April 2022, the partnership will establish codeshare co-operation, as well as reciprocal loyalty benefits for Velocity Frequent Flyer members to earn, redeem and receive tier benefits when travelling on United’s vast domestic and international network, connecting from the carrier’s multiple Australian gateways. The partnership will also extend United’s large Australian presence, as the airline offering more flights to Australia than any other U.S. carrier, including daily direct flights from San Francisco and Los Angeles to Sydney, with flights from Houston and direct services to Melbourne expected to resume later in 2022. Under this new partnership United’s customers will now have seamless access to top Australian cities right across the country through Virgin Australia’s extensive domestic network. <snip> Velocity and Mileage-Plus tier benefits Eligible Velocity and MileagePlus members will receive the following benefits when travelling on Virgin Australia and United services worldwide:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Australia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgin_Australia_Holdings |
But I'd like to see VA fly to LA and SFO, so there would be more competition, maybe more awards supply.
Tough to do though. If travel ever returns to pre-pandemic levels, maybe that will change. My sense was American tourists to Oz and NZ were increasing. |
Originally Posted by exp
(Post 33815404)
But I'd like to see VA fly to LA and SFO, so there would be more competition, maybe more awards supply.
Tough to do though. If travel ever returns to pre-pandemic levels, maybe that will change. My sense was American tourists to Oz and NZ were increasing. A lot of competition USA<---->AU |
Originally Posted by cfischer
(Post 33810037)
true and there is a VA-SQ connection as well. With UA getting closer to SQ ,,, there could be some really interesting options on the table now :)
Originally Posted by uanj
(Post 33813316)
Yes, it has the potential to change travel between the US and OA since VA has dropped all long haul flying. As a result VA is now reliant on their US partner for all connectivity to/from the US. DL is only flying one flight, LAX-SYD. DL onward connections from LAX are limited unless you add two connections involving an additional DL hub. UA will first give VA pax more flight choices from SYD and MEL and much better connectivity within the US, especially from SFO or IAH. UA historically flies far more people into OZ than DL, if VA coordinates well they should pick up the lion's share of onwards domestic connections on the OZ side.
VA is emerging from bankruptcy and needs to focus on their core business. From their side I can see why they are looking for a partner who will deliver the most passengers into their domestic system. DL with one flight a day is of limited benefit. |
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 33817071)
Pre-COVID, did UA have more flights to Australia than DL?
I think it is important for Australia to have two viable airlines. When VA was flying to the US the DL partnership worked to some degree. But with VA's bankruptcy and restructuring they will drop all long haul. They now need a US partner who will deliver passengers to them and a partner who wants to work with them. OZ seems to be more of an after thought to DL, a check-the-box type of destination as in yeah, we fly there, too. |
Originally Posted by uanj
(Post 33817226)
Short answer- yes. Long answer subject to memory loss: DL LAX-SYD daily. UA LAX-SYD daily, SFO-SYD daily, SFO-MEL daily, IAH-SYD 4X weekly. I am not sure about LAX-MEL. Hopefully someone will chime in with the correct info!
I think it is important for Australia to have two viable airlines. When VA was flying to the US the DL partnership worked to some degree. But with VA's bankruptcy and restructuring they will drop all long haul. They now need a US partner who will deliver passengers to them and a partner who wants to work with them. OZ seems to be more of an after thought to DL, a check-the-box type of destination as in yeah, we fly there, too. |
Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 33817251)
What the heck? Why didn't VA team up with UA earlier?
I'll add that for a company that has been around for 20 years they have had about 100 years worth of boardroom drama. I am glad they are still around, but also surprised they are still around. |
Originally Posted by uanj
(Post 33817226)
Short answer- yes. Long answer subject to memory loss: DL LAX-SYD daily. UA LAX-SYD daily, SFO-SYD daily, SFO-MEL daily, IAH-SYD 4X weekly. I am not sure about LAX-MEL. Hopefully someone will chime in with the correct info!
I think it is important for Australia to have two viable airlines. When VA was flying to the US the DL partnership worked to some degree. But with VA's bankruptcy and restructuring they will drop all long haul. They now need a US partner who will deliver passengers to them and a partner who wants to work with them. OZ seems to be more of an after thought to DL, a check-the-box type of destination as in yeah, we fly there, too. -RM |
Originally Posted by RobOnLI
(Post 33817500)
UA had LAX-MEL. I don't remember an SFO-MEL at all.
-RM United UA (LAX - MEL, LAX SFO IAH – SYD) (SFO - MEL from 31 Oct 2019)[Star Alliance].Reduced service IAH-SYD & LAX-SYD March 29 through October 25 2019 |
This is amazing news. I keep (BA) OneWorld status, so that I get lounge access on QF for domestic trips. It will be great to have VA lounge access as well.
This will give me an additional luggage allowance on domestic Australian flights, something I don't get on QF with BA status. |
Originally Posted by FLYMSY
(Post 33809388)
That’s good news. One of the best meals that I’ve had on a plane in recent years was on a Virgin Australia flight, SYD-AYQ, in First. Wines were pretty good, also. Much better than what is served on UA & LH in J.
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Originally Posted by lsquare
(Post 33817251)
What the heck? Why didn't VA team up with UA earlier?
The then-Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey ended the UA codeshare in favour of the DL partnership and JV when he and Branson set up V Australia for their own Australia-USA flights. VA also had VX as a second USA partnership until VX were merged into AS. |
Originally Posted by Mwenenzi
(Post 33818344)
I used to keep tracked of USA<--->AU routes, Had this at 15 Mar 2020, but may not be correct
United UA (LAX - MEL, LAX SFO IAH – SYD) (SFO - MEL from 31 Oct 2019)[Star Alliance].Reduced service IAH-SYD & LAX-SYD March 29 through October 25 2019 -RM |
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