Virgin Australia has signed a new agreement with Virgin Atlantic Cargo for the provision of international long-haul cargo sales and management.

As part of the expanded cooperation, Phillippa Palmer has been appointed as Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s regional sales manager for Australia and New Zealand.

“In 2015, our total volumes ex-Australia to the US increased by 5% year-on-year and ex-US to Australia by 4% in what was, and remains, a highly competitive market,” said Palmer. “We aim to earn the growing support of our customers by ensuring they continue to experience the best possible customer service and network connections.”

The two airlines have worked together since 2009. According to Virgin Atlantic, it is responsible for all cargo revenues on Virgin Australia’s trans-Pacific Boeing 777-300ER flights between Brisbane and Sydney and Los Angeles, where customers can connect to Virgin Atlantic’s worldwide cargo network. Virgin Atlantic will also market the cargo capacity on Virgin Australia’s three-weekly flights between Sydney and Abu Dhabi, which resumed on September 1, 2016.

“We are delighted to be continuing our longstanding partnership with Virgin Australia and the freight forwarding community in Australia,” said John Llyod, senior vice president of cargo at Virgin Atlantic. “In her new role, Pip will continue to build on the excellent relationships she and our local sales team have established with our customers in Australia and New Zealand. It is also great news for our sales team in the US who can continue to provide our customers with a direct cargo service to Australia.”