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A new alliance agreement under which Virgin Atlantic Airways and Tokyo based ANA (All Nippon Airways) will work more closely together has been signed by the two carriers. From April 1 this…
A new alliance agreement under which Virgin Atlantic Airways and Tokyo based ANA (All Nippon Airways) will work more closely together has been signed by the two carriers. From April 1 this year, Virgin Atlantic and ANA will extend their combination fares – which will allow customers to combine ANA and Virgin Atlantic flights between London and Asia in the same round-trip – from journeys taken in economy class to include premium economy and business class travel.
Furthermore, the range of special joint round the world (RTW) fares utilising the networks of both carriers, that were announced by Virgin Atlantic and ANA in September 2006, will be extended to cover premium economy in addition to the currently available business and economy.
Willy Boulter, Virgin Atlantic’s Group Commercial Director, said: “We are delighted to be signing an alliance agreement with ANA which will enable both carriers to start working closer together in many areas of the business, including airport and inflight services, and hope that this will pave the way to a possible codeshare agreement in the future.”
Mr Katsuhiko Kitabayashi, ANA’s Executive Vice President for International Relations added: “Once again, ANA and Virgin Atlantic are demonstrating the positive benefits to customers that an alliance agreement of this kind can bring. We are competitors but work together where possible to strengthen what both carriers have to offer. We look forward to exploring other ways to work together and providing our customers with greater choice and convenience.”
Virgin and ANA first began working together in June 2003, when they tied-up Frequent Flyer Programmes, allowing ANA and Virgin Atlantic passengers to accrue and redeem mileage on each other’s network.
In addition to combination and RTW fares, since September last year, the carriers have also offered Circle Asia fares, which give greater travel options and choices to passengers travelling from the UK through common gateways in Asia. All fare types are subject to mileage accrual and redemption.
In a further move designed to provide simplicity of travel with greater security, Virgin Atlantic and ANA will finalise an interline e-ticket agreement, allowing passengers to combine Virgin Atlantic flights and ANA flights in the same e-ticket.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
