---
title: "Cathay Pacific vs Virgin Australia: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?"
description: "Which is more popular in search, Cathay Pacific or Virgin Australia? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Airlines flying New Zealand travellers set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time."
canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/cathay-pacific-vs-virgin-australia"
publisher: "Brandwave"
---

# Cathay Pacific vs Virgin Australia: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?

Which is more popular in search, Cathay Pacific or Virgin Australia? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Airlines flying New Zealand travellers set in New Zealand. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

## Key facts

- **Compared**: Cathay Pacific and Virgin Australia
- **Competitive set**: Airlines flying New Zealand travellers
- **Market**: New Zealand
- **Month measured**: Aug 2026
- **Cathay Pacific Share of Search**: 2%
- **Virgin Australia Share of Search**: 0.54%

## Which is more popular in search, Cathay Pacific or Virgin Australia?

- In August 2026, Cathay Pacific had more branded searches than Virgin Australia among airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand. Cathay Pacific was estimated to have 35.1K branded searches compared to Virgin Australia’s 9.3K, and held a 2% Share of Search versus Virgin Australia’s 0.54%.
- Cathay Pacific was ahead of Virgin Australia in every measured month of the 11 months ending August 2026.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Cathay Pacific’s estimated Share of Search among airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand moved from 1.4% to 2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 23.3K to 35.1K.
- Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Virgin Australia’s estimated Share of Search among airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand moved from 0.85% to 0.54%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 14.2K to 9.3K.

## How did search popularity change for New Zealand airlines flying new zealand travellers in August 2026?

- In August 2026, Virgin Australia fell from 9th to 10th among airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand.
- Estimated monthly branded searches for Cathay Pacific in New Zealand rose 50.6% over 11 measured months, from 23.3K to 35.1K in August 2026.

## Month by month

| Month | Cathay Pacific estimated searches | Cathay Pacific Share of Search | Cathay Pacific rank | Virgin Australia estimated searches | Virgin Australia Share of Search | Virgin Australia rank |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Oct 2025 | 23.3K | 1.4% | 7 | 14.2K | 0.85% | 10 |
| Nov 2025 | 27.4K | 1.7% | 7 | 11K | 0.7% | 10 |
| Dec 2025 | 22.6K | 1.7% | 7 | 9.1K | 0.66% | 10 |
| Jan 2026 | 33.9K | 1.7% | 7 | 13.7K | 0.7% | 10 |
| Feb 2026 | 33.9K | 2% | 7 | 18.1K | 1.1% | 8 |
| Mar 2026 | 42.1K | 2.1% | 7 | 15K | 0.74% | 9 |
| Apr 2026 | 26.7K | 1.8% | 7 | 15K | 1% | 8 |
| May 2026 | 36.1K | 2.1% | 7 | 10K | 0.6% | 10 |
| Jun 2026 | 35.7K | 2.1% | 7 | 12K | 0.69% | 9 |
| Jul 2026 | 34.3K | 2% | 7 | 12.1K | 0.71% | 9 |
| Aug 2026 | 35.1K | 2% | 7 | 9.3K | 0.54% | 10 |
| Sep 2026 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## How each brand is measured

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using Cathay Pacific’s and Virgin Australia’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

- **Cathay Pacific**: Measured on the search terms “Cathay Pacific”, “Cathay Pacific flights”, “Cathay Pacific New Zealand” and “Cathay Pacific NZ”, summed into one figure.
- **Virgin Australia**: Measured on the search terms “Virgin Australia”, “Virgin Australia flights”, “Virgin Australia New Zealand” and “Virgin Australia NZ”, summed into one figure.

- [Cathay Pacific profile](/demand/nz/brands/cathay-pacific)
- [Virgin Australia profile](/demand/nz/brands/virgin-australia)
- [All airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand](/demand/nz/categories/nz-airlines): The set both shares are measured inside, 13 brands.

## Methodology

- [How is branded search demand measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused.

## Frequently asked questions

### Which is more popular in search, Cathay Pacific or Virgin Australia?

In August 2026, Cathay Pacific had more branded searches than Virgin Australia among airlines flying new zealand travellers in New Zealand. Cathay Pacific was estimated to have 35.1K branded searches compared to Virgin Australia’s 9.3K, and held a 2% Share of Search versus Virgin Australia’s 0.54%.

## Cite this page

Brandwave. "Cathay Pacific vs Virgin Australia: Which is more popular by branded search in New Zealand?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/cathay-pacific-vs-virgin-australia

This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/nz/compare/cathay-pacific-vs-virgin-australia. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.