LONDON – Air Canada & Emirates yesterday announced plans to enter into a strategic partnership, which will be the utilization of codesharing arrangements.
This is due to commence later this year, with Dubai & Toronto the two destinations of interest for the beginning of a new link between the two sides.
“As we continue pursuing our strategy of expanding our global reach in response to growing opportunities in VFR markets (Visiting Friends and Relatives) that serve Canada’s large multicultural communities, we are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with Emirates, a highly respected flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates with a hub in the vibrant city of Dubai”, said Michael Rousseau, President and Chief Executive Officer at Air Canada.
“This strategic agreement will create network synergies, and Air Canada customers will have additional, convenient options when traveling between Canada and the United Arab Emirates as well as destinations beyond Dubai”.
“We look forward to introducing Air Canada codeshare service on key Emirates flights, as well as adding the EK code on select Air Canada flights, and welcoming Emirates customers on our services later this year.”
Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “This is a significant partnership that will enable our customers to access even more destinations in Canada and the Americas, via our Toronto and US gateways.”
“It also opens up many new route combinations for travelers across Emirates’ and Air Canada’s extensive networks in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.”
“We are pleased to partner with Air Canada, one of North America’s most established airlines and Canada’s flag carrier and we look forward to jointly progressing in various areas to provide even better customer flight choices and experiences.”
Significant Connection for Canadians…
This will be good news for those in Canada, as it means that there are more options for traveling beyond Dubai, which will come in useful for flights into the Far East and Australasia.
For Emirates, this is another part of the world where they can bolster their presence in without the external need for their own aircraft.
Both sides will be set to benefit from this deal due to how popular both markets are for final destination travel or to connect onwards across the respective countries.
With Emirates looking to expand its footprint in the Summer season, then this of course is the right way to go about it, and will definitely reap the benefits from this.
Overall…
It remains clear that this is going to be a beneficial partnership for the two sides, especially when there is excessive demand in the market for air travel at present.
It will be interesting to see whether Emirates would increase its own physical footprint in Canada and whether Air Canada would do the same in the United Arab Emirates.
Either way, both sides come to benefit from this arrangement, and it will be interesting to see how much further they choose to go with this deal.
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