Emirates and South African Airways are expanding their strategic cooperation with enhancements to its codeshare agreement, opening up new destinations for both Emirates and SAA customers.
Pending governmental approval, SAA and Emirates have signed an enhanced commercial partnership which will see the relationship between the two carriers grow and strengthen their already successful codeshare agreement signed in 1997, across a wide spectrum of commercial and customer touch points.
The two airlines will work towards bringing more synergies in their respective route network, customer touch points, cargo services and flight schedules to enable seamless connectivity and enhance passenger flows. Connectivity will be improved by adjusting connecting times through Johannesburg, with a special focus on popular regional markets.
Included in the new agreement are plans to enhance the frequent flyer programmes, Emirates’ Skywards and Voyager by SAA. Emirates became a Voyager airline partner in 2000, which means Voyager members are able to earn and redeem Miles on flights operated by Emirates; and similarly, Skywards members are able to earn and redeem Miles on SAA-operated flights.
The airlines will separately work on other areas of bilateral cooperation and an exchange of best practices across multiple airline functions.
Source: Emirates