Qantas and China Southern have signed their first reciprocal codeshare agreement.
Under the deal, Qantas passengers will be able to book on China Southern services from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to Guangzhou, and four onward destinations within China (Xiamen, Kunming, Furzhou and Urumqi).
China Southern customers will be able to book on ten Qantas routes within Australia and to New Zealand.
These are Sydney-Brisbane; Sydney-Melbourne; Sydney-Cairns; Sydney-Canberra; Sydney-Gold Coast; Sydney-Adelaide; Sydney-Auckland; Melbourne-Adelaide; Melbourne-Brisbane; and Cairns-Brisbane.
The new codeshare services are expected to be available for booking and travel from early 2014, subject to regulatory approval.
Alan Joyce, Qantas Group CEO, said: "This is great news for the increasing number of Qantas customers travelling to China for business and leisure, because it simplifies their journey and opens up new destinations.
“Qantas is now in a unique position of having commercial relationships with the three biggest carriers in Greater China. We have codeshare agreements with China Southern and China Eastern, and through oneworld, a relationship with Cathay Pacific.
Si Xianmin, chairman of China Southern, added: "The signing of this agreement between China Southern and Qantas Airways blazes a new and exciting trail for deepened relations between the two companies. It also sets a new model for China Southern to explore the international market together with international airlines."
Graham Smith
