Qatar Airways, British Airways shared network now includes 42 new countries

Qatar Airways and British Airways have completed the latest phase in the expansion of their partnership, offering global connectivity between more countries than any other airline joint business.

The airlines have added 42 new countries to their shared network, including the Maldives and Singapore. Customers will now benefit from even greater choices in prices and schedules with options for direct flights as well as connections via hubs in London and Doha.

The expansion will enable seamless connecting journeys on single tickets through Doha and London, bringing the total number of destinations served by the two airlines to 185 across more than 60 countries. The complementary networks access dozens of countries that no other alliance or joint business provides. The partnership also ensures access to more cities around the world than ever before.

Additionally, customers will have more freedom to engage with both airlines’ loyalty programmes, earning and spending Avios, their common currency. Customers are able to seamlessly link their Qatar Airways Privilege Club and British Airways Executive Club accounts to transfer Avios between the two, and combine balances to claim rewards offered by each programme. The collaboration further offers access to both airlines’ exclusive lounges, and cabins to suit all budgets and needs, including British Airways’ new Club Suite and Qatar Airways’ Qsuite.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, HE Akbar Al Baker said: “The growing collaboration between Qatar Airways and British Airways shows our customers our common goal to offer an unparalleled network with unique benefits. Travellers can now experience the best in quality and service as they travel across our joint network. The joint business between our airlines cements both Qatar Airways and British Airways as industry leaders, aiming to provide the utmost flexibility and unrivalled connectivity to our customers.”

Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO, British Airways said: “This is a huge milestone in our longstanding relationship with Qatar Airways, an airline that shares our passion for customer service, choice and flexibility.

“From idyllic holiday hotspots such as the Maldives and Thailand, to business hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong, we are pleased to open up the world as the travel industry continues to make steps towards its recovery.”

*Cooperation on a small number of routes remains subject to pending regulatory clearances.

Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways launch codeshare agreement

Royal Jordanian (RJ) has further enhanced its ties with oneworld partner Qatar Airways by launching a new codeshare agreement that is set to further expand travel opportunities for the customers of both airlines.

Through the new agreement, which began August 6, 2015, RJ passengers travelling between Amman and Doha on both Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways will benefit from the same airline code and a streamlined level of services from the oneworld partners.

Members of the airlines’ frequent flyer programmes will also be able to collect points on each other’s flights, with this initial route paving the way for additional codeshare expansions in the near future between the airlines across destinations in the US and Asia.

RJ President/CEO Captain Haitham Misto said: “Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways enjoy a strong relationship, and they are both keen on providing superb on-board and on-ground services. This agreement will further enhance the cooperation between our two companies, thus offering our passengers more travel options and frequencies to cities around the world.”

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “Becoming a member of oneworld has enabled Qatar Airways to strengthen its competitive offering, while expanding travel options to passengers around the world within this leading global alliance network. The launch of this new code share agreement with our fellow oneworld member airline Royal Jordanian demonstrates this and will allow passengers to benefit from seamless journeys around the globe.”

Garuda and Turkish Airlines enter into codeshare agreement

Garuda Indonesia and Turkish Airlines are implementing a codeshare agreement from Jakarta to Istanbul and vice versa. This new agreement is in effect from until October 24 2015.

The updated codeshare flight schedule between Garuda Indonesia and Turkish Airlines is as follows:

Source: Garuda Indonesia. CGK is the airport code for Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, while IST is the airport code for Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. STD refers to the time of departure, and STA to the time of arrival. +1 next to a number indicates that arrival is on the next day.

Enquiries on the codeshare agreement should be directed to +62 8041 807 807 or +6221 2351 9999.

Air China and Kunming Airlines start codeshare agreement

Source: Air China. Representatives from Air China and Kunming Airlines at a signing ceremony for the codeshare agreement on September 3.

Air China and Kunming Airlines have begun a codeshare cooperation agreement as of September 15, 2014.

According to the agreement, the two carriers will connect the city of Kunming to their respective route networks. With the cooperation, Air China will put its code CA on the nearly 500 weekly flights of 26 routes operated by Kunming Airlines, which will extend its route network to the cities ofYunnan province and other neighbouring cities. At the same time, Kunming Airlines will put its code KY on about 210 weekly flights of nine routes operated by Air China, which will extend its network to most of China's big and medium-sized cities.

Lou Yongfeng, Managing Director, International Cooperation Department, Commercial Committee, said, "Air China has always attached great importance to establishing partnerships with other carriers. It is our hope that our codeshare cooperation with Kunming Airlines will help us make the most of our synergies, further improve the networks of both sides and make it easier for passengers around the country to travel to and fromYunnan."

Liu Rui, Kunming Airlines' Executive Vice President, said, "Our codeshare cooperation with Air China will not only further expand our route networks, but also help us draw upon the experiences and expertise of other domestic fine airlines, offering better services to passengers to and fromYunnan."

Air China is China's only national flag carrier and also the largest carrier between China and Europe and between China and America. Its route network serves over 162 destinations in 32 countries and regions worldwide. 

Kunming Airlines is a Kunming-based carrier with a network serving most of the second-tier and third-tier cities in Yunnan province. Based in Changshui International Airport, the carrier operates both domestic trunk and feeder routes. It has a fleet of 14 aircraft and a route network that serves more than 20 cities of China.

Air China starts codeshare with China Express

Air China and Guiyang-based China Express (华夏航空) have begun a codeshare cooperation agreement as of 1 September. Air China is China's national flag carrier and also the largest carrier between China and Europe and between China and the US. Its route network serves over 162 destinations in 32 countries and regions worldwide. China Express is a carrier operating feeder routes for passenger and cargo transportation.

Source: Air China. An agreement was signed in Guiyang, Guizhou on August 29, 2014.

According to the agreement, the two carriers will connect the cities of Chongqing, Guiyang and Dalian to their respective networks. Air China operates over 50 routes to Chongqing, Guizhou and Liaoning, giving passengers easy access to most of the Chinese provincial capitals. With the agreement, Air China will be put its code CA on 32 routes operated by China Express, which will extend its route network to the second-tier and third-tier cities around Chongqing as well as in provinces of Guizhou and Liaoning. 

At the same time, China Express will put is G5 code on 30 routes operated by Air China, which will extend its network to most of China's medium and large cities. 

Lou Yongfeng, Managing Director, International Cooperation Department, Commercial Committee, Air China said, "Air China has always attached great importance to establishing partnerships with other carriers. It is our hope that our codeshare cooperation with China Express will further expand the networks of both sides and make it easier for passengers around the country to travel to and from the regions around Chongqing, Guizhou and Liaoning."

Luo Tong, Vice President of China Express, said, "The cooperation not only connects the networks of the two carriers, but also make a trunk route carrier and a feeder carrier complement each other. The feeder market will enter a fast track by benefiting from the well-established trunk routes. So the point-to-point operations of the feeder market will be supported by trunk route operations. China Express is quite committed to making medium- and small-sized cities more accessible, and the most effective way of doing that at the lowest social costs is to fully take advantage of the network of trunk routes to grow the feeder market."

Singapore Airlines extends reach into US through Asiana codeshare agreement

Singapore Airlines has expanded a codeshare agreement with Asiana Airlines which expands its reach beyond Seoul’s Incheon International Airport to Honolulu, Seattle and Los Angeles.

The Star Alliance partners have been codesharing since September 2005 on flights between Singapore and Seoul-Incheon. Singapore Airlines currently operates four daily flights on the route, one of which continues to San Francisco, while Asiana operates daily flights.

Asiana also codeshares on Singapore Airlines-operated flights beyond Singapore to Jakarta in Indonesia, Perth in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand and Cape Town in South Africa.

Hawaiian, Air China join hands on codeshare agreement

Hawaiian Airlines has signed a codeshare agreement with Air China, China's exclusive national flag carrier, that leverages the reach of their respective hubs in Honolulu and Beijing to offer more options and a more streamlined experience for customers traveling to further destinations. The new partnership follows Hawaiian's launch of a three-times weekly non-stop service to Beijing. 

"Following the launch of our inaugural service to Beijing, we are delighted to partner with Air China to extend our network beyond the capital city, giving customers the ability to easily explore additional domestic destinations within China on a single ticket from Honolulu," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO. 

"Air China is dedicated to establishing close relationships with airlines worldwide. We believe the codeshare partnership with Hawaiian Airlines will further extend the networks of both companies, bring convenience to passengers from and around China traveling to the Hawaiian Islands and US Mainland, and to Hawaiian passengers traveling to Beijing and beyond," said Song Zhiyong, CEO of Air China.

Through this comprehensive and multi-phase partnership, Hawaiian Airlines will place its two-letter "HA" booking code on Air China-operated flights from Beijing to Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou and Shenyang. Likewise, Air China will place its two-letter "CA" booking code on Hawaiian Airlines-operated neighbor island flights from Honolulu to Kahului, Līhu'e, Kona and Hilo.

Future cooperation between both carriers is expected to include additional codeshare cities in both China and North America. Both Hawaiian Airlines and Air China are also negotiating a reciprocal partnership that will allow their respective frequent flyer members to earn and redeem miles for travel on either carrier. 

Etihad and Fiji Airways set up codeshare agreement

Fiji Airways and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have inked an interline agreement between the two carriers that allows reciprocal sales to and from 17 cities in the Middle East, 29 cities in Asia and three cities in Australia to and from Fiji, among others.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said: “Fiji is a great holiday market and we are happy to offer Fiji as an additional destination in our global network. The agreement also connects the outer South Pacific Islands to our network which creates more opportunities for our worldwide sales force. “

The Fijian Attorney-General and Minister for Tourism, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has hailed the agreement as an exciting new development for Fiji Airways and the entire Fijian economy. “This opens up a whole new lucrative market for our tourism industry, enabling us to attract affluent visitors from Abu Dhabi - Etihad's base - the other Gulf States, the rest of the Middle East and beyond," he said.

Etihad Airways joins Fiji Airways' list of codeshare or interline partners, which includes American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.

Asiana stops sharing flights with US Airways, Japanese and American destinations affected

Asiana Airlines will terminate its codeshares with US Airways as of March 30, 2014, and asks passengers to check their bookings. The following flights are affected:

Asiana Airlines flights	Japan	Seoul (Incheon) ↔ Fukuoka, Osaka, Nagoya, Okinawa, Shizuoka
	America	Seoul (Incheon) ↔ Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Honolulu
US Airways flights	America	America: Los Angeles ↔ Charlotte, Phoenix, Philadelphia San Francisco ↔ Charlotte, Phoenix, Philadelphia Seattle ↔ Charlotte, Phoenix, Philadelphia Chicago ↔ Atlanta, Orlando, Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Houston.

New Hong Kong-Doha route from Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways

Cathay Pacific Airways of Hong Kong and Qatar Airways, both members of the oneworld alliance, will begin services operated by both airlines between Hong Kong and Doha effective 30 March 2014. 

Under the agreement, Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways will each operate one flight between Hong Kong and Qatar daily, offering premium products and services to passengers travelling to and from the two cities. 

Source: Cathay Pacific. Business Class passengers will enjoy the exclusive facilities at Qatar Airways’ dedicated Premium Terminal in Doha.

Cathay Pacific makes its debut on the Doha route on 30 March, launching a daily service using Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a three-class configuration: Business Class, Premium Economy Class and Economy Class.

The new agreement will give customers of both airlines more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer points or miles. Top-tier members from Cathay Pacific’s The Marco Polo Club and Qatar Airways’ The Privilege Club will enjoy reciprocal benefits when travelling on flights between Hong Kong and Qatar, including lounge access, extra baggage allowances, priority boarding and many other priority services.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive John Slosar said: “Cathay Pacific has a strong commitment to serving the Middle East and we are pleased to enter into this agreement with oneworld partner Qatar Airways, and at the same time launch our own new service to Doha." 

Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “The advantages of this agreement, such as premium lounge access and extra baggage allowances, reflect our ongoing commitment to ensure that we offer the highest standard of in-flight experience.”
The combined Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways schedule for Hong Kong (HKG)-Doha (DOH) from 30 March 2014 is as follows (all times local):

Routing	Flight No.	Departure	Arrival	Day of the week
HKG-DOH	QR815 / CX 9201	0130	0540	Daily
HKG-DOH	CX645 / QR 5800	1840	2250	Daily
DOH-HKG	CX640 / QR 5801	0145	1440	Daily
DOH-HKG	QR816 / CX 9200	0740	2050	Daily

*Schedule may change without prior notice.