The historic rivalry between Australia and New Zealand has taken a friendly turn with a new airline agreement making them "frenemies" in the sky.
Qantas and Air New Zealand on Friday signed a codeshare agreement which will be applied to 115 domestic routes in New Zealand and Australia to make domestic travel between the two countries easier.
Customers travelling between the two countries and then connecting to domestic destinations will get a "seamless" journey with one ticket, easy baggage transfer and the opportunity to earn frequent flyer points between each airline.
The deal also opens up new destinations for customers, with regional Australia set to benefit the most, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said.
"It's a big win for regional Australia because they're the people that have the most awkward time connecting and this will make a huge difference," Mr Joyce told reporters at Sydney Airport on Friday.
"Dealing with Air New Zealand in this has been a click of cultures and a click of personalities that click well together," Mr Joyce said standing alongside Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon.
It won't apply to trans-Tasman and other international flights, however, with the two airlines remaining "fierce competitors" in those markets, he added.
Mr Luxon said the agreement reflected the "special relationship" between the two countries, noting the "tremendous rivalry" would remain.
"It's a bit like high school because we're frenemies. We have to compete incredibly strongly and we will continue to do that but we will do (so) with great respect to each other," Mr Luxon said.
Out of four million people who travel across the Tasman from New Zealand, 140,000 of them do an onward domestic journey in Australia, he added.
"It is awesome to see the flying kangaroo and the koru together on the tarmac," he said.
Under the agreement, Qantas will add its code on up to 30 routes on Air New Zealand's domestic network while Air New Zealand will add its code on up to 85 routes on Qantas' domestic network.
Eligible customers will also have access to a total of 36 domestic lounges in both countries when flying on routes covered by the agreement.
The codeshare services will be available by the end of July, for travel from October 28.
