What Virgin Atlantic Joining SkyTeam Means for Australians

Virgin Atlantic (not to be confused with Virgin Australia!) has announced that it will join the SkyTeam alliance in early 2023.

This is great news for Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members, who will soon be able to earn and redeem Virgin Atlantic points across the SkyTeam alliance. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members will also be able to earn tier points on any SkyTeam airline, and Flying Club Silver and Gold members will receive reciprocal SkyTeam Elite or Elite Plus benefits (respectively).

Likewise, members of other SkyTeam frequent flyer programs will soon be able to benefit from the ability to earn and redeem miles, and receive status benefits, when flying with Virgin Atlantic.

Based in the UK, Virgin Atlantic operates primarily long-haul flights to North America and the Caribbean, as well as Israel, South Africa, Nigeria and Asia from its hubs in London and Manchester.

From 2023, the British airline originally founded by Richard Branson in 1984 will join 18 other SkyTeam member airlines including Delta, China Airlines, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia.

Virgin Atlantic is 49% owned by Delta Air Lines, which is already part of the SkyTeam alliance. Bizarrely, Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian had publicly labelled SkyTeam a “failure” in 2019.

Virgin Atlantic is also already part of a trans-Atlantic joint venture with Delta, Air France and KLM – which are also existing SkyTeam members.

Virgin Atlantic previously flew from London to Sydney via Hong Kong until 2014.

In 2019, Virgin Atlantic received ACCC approval to coordinate services between Australia and London with Virgin Australia, with passengers connecting between the two airlines through Hong Kong and Los Angeles. But that partnership was short-lived as Virgin Australia ceased operating long-haul flights less than a year later.

What does this mean for Australians?

As Virgin Atlantic no longer flies to Australia, the impact of this announcement may not be immediately obvious. But there is a clear winner: American Express cardholders!

Australians with Amex Membership Rewards points can transfer those points to a range of airline loyalty programs, including Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. But none of these airlines are currently SkyTeam members, and it is notoriously difficult to earn points with SkyTeam airlines in Australia.

Currently, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be redeemed to book selected award flights on Virgin Atlantic and the following other partner airlines:

• Virgin Australia
• Delta
• Air France
• KLM
• Singapore Airlines
• Air New Zealand
• South African Airways
• All Nippon Airways (ANA)
• Hawaiian Airlines

Once Virgin Atlantic becomes a full member of the SkyTeam alliance, it will open up the possibility to redeem Flying Club points across 15 more airlines which are part of the SkyTeam alliance but not currently Virgin Atlantic partners.

This is great news for Australians because many SkyTeam airlines offer very good Business Class award availability on flights to and from Australia. For example, Vietnam Airlines has up to two Business Class award seats available on most of its flights between Australia and Vietnam, with onward connections available to the rest of Asia and Europe – even at many peak times.

Australians with Amex Membership Rewards points will soon be able to access this availability, which is not otherwise easily accessible to most Australian point collectors.

Will this mean anything for Virgin Australia?

Although it’s a partner of Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia is a completely separate airline and is not joining SkyTeam.

There have been plenty of rumours (and perhaps wishful thinking) over the years that Virgin Australia would join an alliance. But this announcement is unlikely to have much influence on Virgin Australia in that regard.

That said, the opportunity to earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club status through a combination of flying on Virgin Australia and across the SkyTeam alliance could be interesting to some people. Those with Virgin Atlantic status will also soon be able to use these benefits across the whole SkyTeam alliance, as well as with Virgin Australia. That said, Virgin Atlantic does not award any tier points (which count towards Flying Club status) on Virgin Australia Economy Class flights under 2,000 miles in distance.

Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Virgin Atlantic joins Skyteam

Matt Graham

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt's passion for travel has taken him to over 70 countries… with the help of frequent flyer points, of course!
Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil & Kazakhstan. His interests include economics, aviation & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine.

You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @AFF Editor.