Following the decision of Qatar Airways to take a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, Etihad has announced that the codesharing and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits will end from June 1, 2025.
Currently customers and members of either Etihad and Virgin Australia Velocity can earn miles and receive certain tier related benefits when traveling on the partner carrier as part of a reciprocal agreement.
This will end by the middle of next year, as Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia are about to ink the deal, which will see the Doha-based carrier take a 25% ownership stake in VA.
While it’s not unusual for mutual partnerships to remain open when airlines join alliances or have new owners (see Virgin Atlantic or Alaska Airlines), it’s typical that when this dynamic includes commercial rivals such as Etihad and Qatar Airways, these partnerships will be terminated.
As reported by News Australia starting June 1, 2025 will be the date from which on mutual benefits between Etihad and Virgin Australia will no longer apply.
Etihad has announced it will end its codeshare agreement with Virgin Australia as of next year.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said the move reflected a divergence in the “strategic direction of the respective airlines”.
As of June 1, 2025, passengers will no longer be able to book Virgin Australia-operated flights through Etihad’s booking channels – and members can no longer earn Guest Miles on the Aussie carriers’ flights.
Etihad customers with an existing booking with a Virgin Australia-operated segment will experience no changes to their itineraries.
“Etihad Airways remains dedicated to serving Australia, as it has since 2007,” the airline’s statement issued Monday said.
“For Summer 2025, the airline will increase its flights to Sydney and Melbourne, offering Australian guests an exceptional flying experience, loyalty benefits, and connections to its expanding global network.”
The move comes about six weeks after Qatar Airways announced its intent to acquire a 25 per cent stake in Virgin Australia, subject to government approval.
If given the green light, Qatar will become Virgin’s exclusive interline, codeshare and loyalty partner headquartered in the Middle East or Turkey, and Virgin Australia will become Qatar’s exclusive interline, codeshare and loyalty partner headquartered in Australia, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The ACCC anticipates a final determination on the alliance in March 2025. …
If the 25 per cent stake is approved by the ACCC and Foreign Investment Review Board, it will see Virgin launch flights from Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to Doha, in the Middle East. …
To be fair, this isn’t coming out of the blue as the deal between Qatar Airways and Virgin has been in the works for quite a while and the ME3 typically avoid being entangled with each other like the plague.
Interestingly the Virgin Australia website still shows active earning ability on Etihad well beyond June 2025:
There might just be a delay in updating the website. I can’t imagine this information to be up to date.
It’s important to note that award tickets that were already issued will remain valid to be flown on either partner and there won’t be any change to that unless of course you require a date change, then you’re sol.
The application submitted by Virgin and Qatar to the regulator (ACCC) outlines that Qatar Airways will become VA’s “exclusive interline, codeshare, and loyalty partner.”
I wonder what affect this will have on other Virgin Australia Velocity partnerships for example with Singapore Airlines!?
Conclusion
Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia have submitted an application to the Australian regular concerning a purchase as Qatar taking a 25% ownership stake in VA.
As a result of this, Etihad has announced that the partnership between the gulf carrier and Virgin Australia / Velocity will cease from June 1, 2025. This move is not unusual and was expected.
We shall see in the near future if other partnerships and redemption options will also be affected as Virgin Australia and their Velocity program have quite a few bileteral partnerships.
