Emirates and Airlink expand partnership; seal codeshare agreement

 Emirates and Airlink expand partnership; seal codeshare agreement

Emirates and Airlink have announced the expansion of their existing partnership into a unilateral codeshare agreement, giving travellers to and from South Africa convenient access to more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries.

The extended codeshare provides connectivity to Emirates customers not offered by any other carrier in Africa, and augments the long-standing partnership that Emirates has with South African Airways.

The move comes as Emirates resumes its flights to South Africa and ramps up its operations to provide customers with enhanced connectivity via its gateways Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The connectivity provided by the new codeshare between Emirates and Airlink will offer competitive fares, combined ticketing, and seamless baggage transfers when connecting between both airlines.

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer, Emirates Airline said, “The expansion of the Emirates – Airlink partnership marks an important step forward in our relationship. Our new codeshare agreement enhances our service offering and flexibility for customers traveling beyond our gateways in South and Southern Africa and provides them unparalleled options for leisure destinations. We are committed to growing our operations in South Africa, and with the strong connection opportunities being provided collectively with Airlink we hope to help jumpstart the recovery of the local travel and tourism industry.”

Rodger Foster, chief executive officer and managing director, Airlink said: “This exciting development is an overwhelming endorsement to Airlink. We are delighted, honoured, and privileged that Emirates Airline has chosen Airlink as its Southern Africa partner. Emirates serves all of our source markets and together we are able to provide vital air access throughout Airlink’s comprehensive network of destinations within Southern Africa, and provide much needed connectivity, linking Africa with the world and the world with Africa. The tourism and air transportation sectors have been hardest hit by the pandemic and the associated lockdowns and travel bans, and as the world gets vaccinated, we expect the pent-up travel demand will be realised, and more customers will want to visit the special destinations that Airlink offers services to.”