Dubai-based carrier flydubai has entered new codeshare partnership with Canadian national carrier Air Canada.
The new agreement will offer customers flying between Canada, the Middle East, East Africa, Indian Subcontinent and Southern Asia more convenient travel options.
Nine codeshare routes
Subject to final regulatory approval, Air Canada’s marketing code will be placed on nine routes operated from Dubai by flydubai, giving customers the ability to travel to these markets with the issuance of a single ticket.
The nine routes include Bahrain, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah and Muscat in the GCC as well as to Colombo and Karachi in the Indian Subcontinent.
Interline agreement
In addition to the code share routes, and interline arrangement means that customers will be able to seamlessly connect in Dubai to more than 60 destinations that flydubai flies to.
This will include destinations in the Middle East, East Africa and Southern Asia – including Djibouti, Kathmandu and the Maldives.
Of these destinations, more than 30 are unique to flydubai and not flown by other partners of Air Canada.
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flydubai statement
Commenting on the new codeshare announcement, Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said: “We are very pleased to be adding Air Canada to our list of partners and to offer their passengers a seamless travel experience on the flydubai network.”
“We look forward to growing this partnership that offers passengers the benefits and the convenience of connecting via the Dubai aviation hub and we look forward to welcoming them on board soon.”
Air Canada statement
Mark Galardo, Executive Vice President, Revenue and Network Planning at Air Canada, said: “Air Canada is very pleased to partner with flydubai, further expanding our connectivity to the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, a growing source of immigration and travel to Canada.”
“This new partnership is a perfect complement to Air Canada’s nonstop service to Dubai from Toronto and Vancouver, and growing our relationship with Emirates, flydubai’s codeshare partner.”
“Together we look forward to bringing together our networks and building a better experience for our customers.”
The two airlines also plan on further improving the connection process in Dubai and are working toward introducing expanded features and benefits for one another’s loyalty programme members to be announced later this year.
Expanded Canada-United Arab Emirates air transport agreement
The latest partnering between UAE carrier flydubai and Air Canada flows on from last month’s announcement of an expanded air transport agreement between the two nations.
Under the terms of the expanded agreement 21 additional flights per week will be permitted by each country. This effectively permits 50% more flights than the maximum number previously possible, and it gives airlines greater flexibility to accommodate changes in market demand.
The United Arab Emirates is Canada’s largest air transport market in the Middle East, and several airlines from both nations have now taken advantage of the increased flexibility of the new travel agreement.
The recent expansion of the agreement with the UAE was guided by Canada’s Blue Sky policy, which encourages long-term, sustainable competition and the development of international air services.
