'Your better looking cousin': Air New Zealand pokes fun at Qantas after both airlines release new safety videos

Air New Zealand has poked fun at Qantas, joking it's the Australian airline's "younger, slightly better looking cousin".

Both airlines released new safety videos this week: Qantas' 'A Century of Safety' on Thursday, then Air New Zealand's 'A Journey to Safety' on Friday.

Using Twitter, Aotearoa's national carrier congratulated its Aussie rival's "good work" - but got a friendly dig in, as well.

"Hey Qantas, it's your younger slightly better looking cousin from across the ditch. Good work on A Century of Safety - how about A Journey to Safety?" Air New Zealand said on Twitter.

At the time of publishing, Qantas has not replied.

'A Journey to Safety' is a three minute clip featuring a takahē as its main star. The video is a partnership with the Department of Conservation (DoC) and features facts about the native bird as part of a goal to highlight the biodiversity crisis.

'A Century of Safety' lasts an lengthy eight minutes and 20 seconds and features a wide range of scenes from throughout Qantas' 100 year history.

It's not the first time the national airlines of the trans-Tasman countries have taken aim at each other over social media.

In 2018, after Air New Zealand and Qantas announced a partnership with each other, the Kiwi airline joked that Australia is what you get when "you take away NZ's stunning ski fields, world-class cuisine and cool culture".

Qantas responded by mockingly saying Australia has never been left off international maps, unlike New Zealand, using the hashtag #frenemies.