Emirates and Qantas have now opened up bookings for their joint network, upon receiving interim authorisation from the Australian Competitions and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week for their decade-long global partnership. Final authorisation for the partnership is due in March.
As reported earlier (see story here), the Emirates-Qantas agreement will take effect from March 31 onwards as soon as Qantas' 17-year joint business agreement with IAG/British Airways terminates.
The partnership will not only integrate the two carriers’ networks but will also see Qantas shift its gateway to Europe from Singapore to Dubai, and it will also link the two frequent flyer programs, providing “reciprocal access to tier status benefits” (for details on schedule changes, click here).
“No airline can fly everywhere but the combined Qantas and Emirates network means our customers can fly to a wide range of destinations and earn frequent flyer points in the process. One of the main advantages our customers will notice is a one-stop access to a much wider range of cities across Europe via Dubai, rather than having to fly to London and backtrack,” said Simon Hickey, chief executive of Qantas International.
This partnership between the two flagship carriers is part of Qantas International’s plans to shake up its business strategy in order to return the carrier’s “international performance to profitability in the short term” (see story here).
For more information visit www.qantas.com.au, www.emirates.com.
Alisha Haridasani
