Air New Zealand Commences Code Share Relationship with Austrian Airlines Group

Air New Zealand is to commence a code share relationship with its Star Alliance partner, the Austrian Airlines Group (made up of three airlines - Austrian Airlines, Lauda Air and Tyrolean), effective from 26 October.

This move will provide Air New Zealand customers with another gateway to and from Europe and those travelling southbound with the Austrian Airlines Group, the ability to link with Air New Zealand flights across the Tasman.

Air New Zealand will place its code on the following flights operated by Lauda Air:

Sydney to Vienna via Kuala Lumpur (5 times weekly); and Melbourne to Vienna via Kuala Lumpur (twice weekly); and on services operated by Austrian Airlines' between Vienna and London, which have daily connections to Air New Zealand's London services.

The Austrian Airlines Group will code share on selected trans-Tasman services operated by Air New Zealand between Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to Sydney and Melbourne.

Air New Zealand's Senior Vice President Sales and Distribution, Norm Thompson welcomed the new arrangement and explained it will have reciprocal benefits for the customers of both airlines.

"Air New Zealand's prime focus is to offer additional inbound services for travellers from Malaysia as well as Continental Europe.

" Having seats available with the Austrian Airlines Group offers an alternative route to and from New Zealand and places the Air New Zealand code back in the important Malaysian market," he said.

"Similarly, under the new code share arrangement, Vienna will now join Frankfurt and Munich as additional gateways to New Zealand from Europe."

Lauda Air, have flown to Australia for a number of years and now fly daily into Australia with services to Sydney five times a week and Melbourne twice weekly.

"Code sharing on Air New Zealand flights by the Austrian Airlines Group is a natural extension of their business across the Tasman and provides their customers with a direct link to New Zealand," said Mr Thompson.