Qantas and Air France will begin offering new connections between Europe and Australia starting July 20, 2018 with codesharing set to begin on flights operated by both carriers through Hong Kong and Singapore.
Much of the codesharing will comprise Air France placing its code on Qantas flights, notably between Hong Kong and Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as between Singapore and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Air France will also codeshare on a number of domestic Qantas services from Sydney to Canberra, Hobart, Adelaide, Cairns and Darwin.
Qantas, meanwhile, will place its code on Air France’s flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Singapore and Hong Kong, which connect with its own flights into the two Asian cities.
The agreement will see the carriers codeshare on a total of more than 200 flights per week. Bookings are set to go live from June 5.
In March, speculation was mounting that Qantas was looking to launch its own non-stop flights between Perth and Paris, following the launch of its non-stop Perth-London services.
However, Qantas has stated that it does not have plans to launch such a route, and the renewed codeshare with Air France – notably the inclusion of flights between Perth and Singapore – indicate Qantas is opting to go for non-direct connectivity between Perth and Paris for the time being.
“This is great news for our customers who want to travel to Europe via Asia, giving them another option to get to Paris and more opportunities to earn Frequent Flyer Points,” said Alison Webster, CEO of Qantas International.
“The return of this popular codeshare delivers on our strategy of partnering to provide customers with access to an expanded network and more seamless travel experiences wherever they want to fly.”
Notably for business travellers, the codesharing also will give new lounge access options to passengers with both airlines. Air France business class passengers as well as Flying Blue Club 2000, Platinum and Gold members will be able to use Qantas’s Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia lounges. Meanwhile, Qantas business class passengers and Frequent Flyer Platinum one, Platinum and Gold members will be able to use Air France’s lounges in Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Qantas is currently set to revamp its Sydney lounge, with work beginning in the third quarter of this year ahead of a reopening at the end of 2019. The airline also opened up a new transit lounge in Perth, coinciding with the launch of its non-stop London service.
Air France, meanwhile, unveiled its redesigned business class lounge in Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Terminal 2E Hall L in January. The lounge is a flagship of the new design, which will be introduced progressively throughout the Air France network.
