All great points are raised above.
I do quite like the VA/EY partnership as I found that the integration was and is always very smooth.
I fly EY/VA to Europe in Y three to four times to Europe per year as an Etihad Guest member (so a bit different than a Velocity member) and I never had one problem getting published benefits recognized on Virgin Australia.
I never, however, got priority seats or Eco X or zone 1 as a Plat member - my boarding passes don't seem to get 'bumped' to zone 1 boarding but I always get through PB with no issues.
It's not on published benefits but I think that staff are actually locked out of assigning Eco X seating for partner frequent flyers.
(Staff tried pro-actively at BNE and SYD and could not with my EY Plat number in the booking for some reason). I understand that Velocity numbers don't get any seat privileges with EY either - which is a point that could be improved.
I often get offered Fly Ahead with my EY number - and that's fantastic but I do think it's just under staff discretion.
I flew recently in March with Virgin Australia from Adelaide to Brisbane - and I think it was the first time that the check-in kiosk correctly showed my upgraded check bags allowance.
I was then able to use the barcode reader in the lounge for the first time.
From a business/connection perspective for passengers - Etihad only flies now to Sydney and Melbourne at reduced frequencies compared to Qatar Airways to practically all major Australian airports.
Also, their B777-300s really need to get removed from Australian routes, but they do not have enough aircraft (yet) to make it happen. Their Dreamliners are very comfortable for Y passengers, their 777, not so much and the J cabin is really, really dated.
I got it two times last year as a complimentary upgrade from Y and it is a different world from the already aging J 787 cabin.
I'd love to fly their A350s for ultra-long haul or even A380s again to Australia - one day, maybe.
I've read some rumors that Etihad would restart flying to PER soon (?).
Now - EY's CEO also previously mentioned in the last few weeks that they are not focusing anymore on ultra-long-haul destinations... but stopping flying to Australia would be quite a hole in their connecting network and yet, EY still codeshares on many, many, and many Virgin Australia services + NZ services.
I'd love to know how many AU/NZ-connecting passengers Etihad get on their services to Abu Dhabi compared to pax originating in MEL and/or SYD.
With their switch to Amadeus - it's quite interesting to see that Qantas and Jetstar feeding flights to Melbourne and Sydney are always showing in the first few itineraries then closely by EY/VA codeshares and then VA prime flights for a very similar cost.
Also, the EY codeshare service on GA is often pushed at the top to connect via Jakarta - which I find interesting.
The award availability for EY Guests on VA is excellent - but prices are all dynamic which reduces values from their previous fixed offering.
It does make perfect sense for VA to have switched its main airlines to Europe.
Same for North America with United and now Air Canada codeshares (haven't seen too many articles about this - it's a massive improvement for Velocity members with two major North American carriers).
However, it's still easier to maintain status on EY - and by defacto VA by flying EY/VA as they are still distance-based - even on their lowest economy ticket - which makes it fairly easy to get Gold and above if your main airlines are Etihad and Virgin in Australia (they are for me).
One return to Europe and you already have enough for a return VA domestic service as soon as you are Gold or Plat.
It's still quite restrictive to have to fly to MEL/SYD to connect to Europe to get status benefits as a EY P - so I only do it when the fare is attractive since they dropped Brisbane.
I think both airlines complement each other very well - Etihad needs a solid partner in Australia - and the value seems to be there for them to continue renewing codeshare and frequent flyers agreements with VA... - They are finally upgrading their lounge in AUH - and the F lounge is a fantastic place to kill time in transit.
The new EY cabins showcased at Dubai last week are looking especially great for Y passengers on long-haul flights.
I tried once a long-haul on a QR 777-300ER and it wasn't a great experience.
Sorry for the long comment - but I do believe that there is still value between Virgin and Etihad and Velocity/Guest Frequent Flyers - albeit more niche than QR/SQ or UA/AC.
I do quite like the VA/EY partnership as I found that the integration was and is always very smooth.
I fly EY/VA to Europe in Y three to four times to Europe per year as an Etihad Guest member (so a bit different than a Velocity member) and I never had one problem getting published benefits recognized on Virgin Australia.
I never, however, got priority seats or Eco X or zone 1 as a Plat member - my boarding passes don't seem to get 'bumped' to zone 1 boarding but I always get through PB with no issues.
It's not on published benefits but I think that staff are actually locked out of assigning Eco X seating for partner frequent flyers.
(Staff tried pro-actively at BNE and SYD and could not with my EY Plat number in the booking for some reason). I understand that Velocity numbers don't get any seat privileges with EY either - which is a point that could be improved.
I often get offered Fly Ahead with my EY number - and that's fantastic but I do think it's just under staff discretion.
I flew recently in March with Virgin Australia from Adelaide to Brisbane - and I think it was the first time that the check-in kiosk correctly showed my upgraded check bags allowance.
I was then able to use the barcode reader in the lounge for the first time.
From a business/connection perspective for passengers - Etihad only flies now to Sydney and Melbourne at reduced frequencies compared to Qatar Airways to practically all major Australian airports.
Also, their B777-300s really need to get removed from Australian routes, but they do not have enough aircraft (yet) to make it happen. Their Dreamliners are very comfortable for Y passengers, their 777, not so much and the J cabin is really, really dated.
I got it two times last year as a complimentary upgrade from Y and it is a different world from the already aging J 787 cabin.
I'd love to fly their A350s for ultra-long haul or even A380s again to Australia - one day, maybe.
I've read some rumors that Etihad would restart flying to PER soon (?).
Now - EY's CEO also previously mentioned in the last few weeks that they are not focusing anymore on ultra-long-haul destinations... but stopping flying to Australia would be quite a hole in their connecting network and yet, EY still codeshares on many, many, and many Virgin Australia services + NZ services.
I'd love to know how many AU/NZ-connecting passengers Etihad get on their services to Abu Dhabi compared to pax originating in MEL and/or SYD.
With their switch to Amadeus - it's quite interesting to see that Qantas and Jetstar feeding flights to Melbourne and Sydney are always showing in the first few itineraries then closely by EY/VA codeshares and then VA prime flights for a very similar cost.
Also, the EY codeshare service on GA is often pushed at the top to connect via Jakarta - which I find interesting.
The award availability for EY Guests on VA is excellent - but prices are all dynamic which reduces values from their previous fixed offering.
It does make perfect sense for VA to have switched its main airlines to Europe.
Same for North America with United and now Air Canada codeshares (haven't seen too many articles about this - it's a massive improvement for Velocity members with two major North American carriers).
However, it's still easier to maintain status on EY - and by defacto VA by flying EY/VA as they are still distance-based - even on their lowest economy ticket - which makes it fairly easy to get Gold and above if your main airlines are Etihad and Virgin in Australia (they are for me).
One return to Europe and you already have enough for a return VA domestic service as soon as you are Gold or Plat.
It's still quite restrictive to have to fly to MEL/SYD to connect to Europe to get status benefits as a EY P - so I only do it when the fare is attractive since they dropped Brisbane.
I think both airlines complement each other very well - Etihad needs a solid partner in Australia - and the value seems to be there for them to continue renewing codeshare and frequent flyers agreements with VA... - They are finally upgrading their lounge in AUH - and the F lounge is a fantastic place to kill time in transit.
The new EY cabins showcased at Dubai last week are looking especially great for Y passengers on long-haul flights.
I tried once a long-haul on a QR 777-300ER and it wasn't a great experience.
Sorry for the long comment - but I do believe that there is still value between Virgin and Etihad and Velocity/Guest Frequent Flyers - albeit more niche than QR/SQ or UA/AC.
