Dubai: In a major global alliance, Emirates has signed a 10-year codeshare deal with Australian flag carrier, Qantas, creating a global aviation partnership linking the UAE with 50 additional destinations in Australia.
The deal signed on Thursday by Emirates President Tim Clark and Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, will see the loss-making Qantas move its hub for European flights from Singapore to Dubai, in a bid to stem losses.
The Australian flag carrier last month announced a net loss of $248 million, which in turn forced it into cancelling orders for 35 Boeing aircraft owing to tough market factors.
However, “neither airline will take equity in the other”, Emirates said in a statement, adding that the as a part of the move will be enhanced by integrated network collaboration between the two carrier, with coordinated pricing, sales and scheduling as well as a benefits sharing model.
“The time was right for developing a long term, future forward partnership with Qantas, the iconic Australian airline,” Clark said in a statement. Qantas Group CEO, Joyce, added that the partnership would mark a decisive step forward in the Group’s strategy.
“The partnership delivers on all four pillars of the Qantas Group’s international strategy: it will see us fly to the global gateway city of Dubai, provide some of the world’s best travel experiences through both Qantas and Emirates, improve our position in Asia through better timed flights and, crucially, help build a strong Qantas International business for the long term,” he said.
Qantas will additionally launch daily A380 service from both Sydney and Melbourne to London via Dubai for a combined seven daily A380 flights to London Heathrow, according to the statement. And Qantas will also be the first Australasian carrier to operate scheduled services to Dubai, delivering an additional 900 seats daily from Melbourne and Sydney, as a part of the deal.
Listing the benefits, aviation analyst, Andrew Charlton of Aviation Advocacy, told Gulf News: “What is the impact on Qantas? First, it confirms that Qantas has committed itself to flying around Asia-Pacific and by doing this deal it has, in effect, outsourcecd its European operations. It must throw into question the entire Qantas-British Airways and Qantas-Oneworld strategy. Emirates has argued for years that it does not agree with alliances and now it is showing that there are competitive alternatives. Alliances are at best a marriage of convienence. For Qantas this is a better option.”
