Emirates and China Southern Airlines have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to progress a comprehensive reciprocal codeshare agreement, which is set to open up new destinations for passengers travelling between China and the Middle East and Africa.
The partnership with the Guangzhou-based carrier also allows Emirates’ passengers to enjoy seamless connectivity on domestic flights within China, adding eight new destinations to its global network.
The Chinese cities covered by the codeshare agreement include Fuzhou, Chongqing, Kunming, Qingdao, Xiamen, Chengdu, Nanjing and Xi ‘an during the initial phase of the partnership, subject to necessary government approvals. Emirates itself serves Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Passengers travelling from China will have more choice and travel seamlessly with minimum connection times, when flying to destinations in Emirates’ Middle East network such as Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Muscat, Kuwait and Cairo.
The codeshare agreement also includes flights to African destinations such as Seychelles and Lagos, operated by Emirates.
The codeshare partnership will provide customers with the simplicity of purchasing connecting flights using one reservation, and a smooth ticketing, check-in, boarding and baggage check experience during the entire journey.
The signing represents the first codeshare agreement between Emirates and a China-based airline and the first bi-directional partner in the Middle East for China Southern.
Emirates currently has codeshare agreements in place with 23 partners around the world. With the new codeshare partnership with China Southern Airlines, Emirates customers will be able to enjoy connectivity to over 160 destinations in Asia Pacific.
Emirates operates twice-daily flights to both Beijing and Shanghai in addition to one daily flight to Guangzhou, all operated by Airbus A380 aircraft.
