A proposed tie-up between Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia has been given the green light by Singaporean regulators.

The city-state’s Competition Commission officially approved the alliance on Thursday, which brings the two airlines one step closer to offering coordinated schedules, codeshare flights, marketing, sales, pricing and frequent flier benefits on each other’s services.

The news follows a draft approval last week by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). The watchdog is slated to table its official nod by the end of the year.

The effort comes as part of Virgin’s efforts to expand its long haul reach and to poach a greater portion of Australian business travellers from market dominator Qantas. Virgin, which has recently gained approval for similar tie-ups with Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways and Air New Zealand, said through the alliance it will be able to utilise SIA’s reach into the fast growing Asian market, whilst SIA will be able to offer an extended selection of Australian destinations.

The announcement in Singapore came paired with a second piece of good news for Virgin, after chief executive John Borghetti was named the CAPA Centre for Aviation’s airline chief executive of 2011. CAPA officials said Borghetti had shown major individual influence for the industry in the Asian-Pacific region.