Emirates doubles partnership connectivity in a year

DUBAI, UAE – In the past year, Emirates has doubled the number of cities it offers beyond its own network, unlocking travel opportunities to nearly 1,700 additional cities. This has enabled an average of over 61,000 passengers to seamlessly connect on the shared networks of Emirates and its partners every week.

By forging new partnerships and deepening existing ones across the transport ecosystem, the airline is delivering an array of additional travel choices alongside 31 codeshare, 118 interline and 13 rail and helicopter services partners. Having 162 partners in over 100 countries means an expanded network reach with more and better connections for travellers, seamless single ticket itineraries, enhanced baggage transfers, frequent flyer benefits, lounge access, and other advantages to ensure a smooth travel experience at every touchpoint.

For customers of partner airlines flying on Emirates, popular destinations are even closer through Emirates’ robust network over 140 destinations and frictionless connectivity offered at DXB, complemented by industry leading experiences on the ground and in the skies, all easily within reach.

In the last year, Emirates launched 16 new partnerships which include codeshares with Avianca and Batik Air Malaysia and the airline also finalised and implemented interline arrangements with KAM Air, Sri Lankan Airlines, Condor, Flynas, Viva Aerobus, Sun Express, Maldivian, Siberia Airlines and Kenya Airways.

From plane to train, Emirates customers are now one ticket away from fast connections to cities across Europe through codeshare partnerships with Trenitalia, Spanish Rail Renfe, Austrian Rail OBB and Swedish Rail SJ. The airline was also the first full-service carrier to enter into an innovative interline partnership with BLADE, an urban air-mobility company to provide Emirates customers with helicopter flights between Nice and Monaco on a single ticket.

Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer Emirates Airline said: “In the last year, we’ve doubled down on our strategy of deepening our global presence and expanding our footprint across six continents by forging new partnerships with like-minded airlines, rail partners and air mobility operators to provide a huge choice of onwards destinations, connectivity options and seamless ‘last mile’ access for travellers like never before. While organic growth will always at the heart of our plans, we’ll continue to leverage the strength of our partners’ complementary networks as part of our commitment to help our customers reach every corner of the globe in the easiest way possible. World-class connectivity keeps economies strong and resilient, and our partnership growth ambitions align with Dubai’s D33 strategy to make our home and hub the most connected city in the world, attracting business, tourism, and investment from all over the globe.”

Over the years, Emirates’ many partnerships have paved the way for the airline to form robust networks that not only connect customers to unique points but also provide the advantages of schedule optimisation, seamless connectivity at DXB with access to Terminal 3, as well as reciprocal loyalty benefits. Its cornerstone partnership with flydubai is an exceptional example of how joint cooperation yields smoother journeys and more customer benefits.   Today, customers have access to over 230 destinations across 100 countries, with 275 codeshare flights to choose from on an average day. Emirates customers can book flights to over 90 unique flydubai destinations and flydubai customers can choose from over 100 Emirates destinations. As a result, over 17.5 million passengers have connected on the joint networks of Emirates and flydubai since the partnership launched in 2017.

For leisure travellers heading to popular destinations like the Maldives, Emirates’ unique interline partnership with Maldivian enablescustomers to access 16 islands beyond Male. Emirates’ partnership with Pro Flight Zambia provides access to 13 points served by the southern African airline, including unique regional getaways like Lower Zambezi National Park, a short trip from Lusaka that offers a captivating safari experience.

The airline’s major partnerships with United, Air Canada and Qantas continue to deliver unmatched access for its customers to more than 350 destinations across North, Central and South America, Australia, and New Zealand, expanding connection opportunities, providing unrivalled reciprocity across loyalty programmes, as well as other world-class customer benefits like lounge access.

Emirates continues to expand city pairs on a single ticket and boost connectivity and choice across a number of other strategic partnerships in the airline’s network including:

The Americas: Emirates customers can access more than 375 cities through United, Air Canada and other partner airlines across Canada, Mexico, Caribbean Islands and Central and South America. Customers connecting on Emirates’ network onwards from Dubai can choose from unique destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Central and South Asia.
Europe: Travellers can access over 380 cities through seven codeshare, 33 interline & 12 rail and air mobility partners including Condor, ITA Airways, Air Malta, Air Baltic, Aegean Airlines, TAP Portugal and Siberia Airlines, in addition to Emirates’ rail partners across Germany, Spain France, Italy, Austria and Sweden that provide on-ground transfers and flexibility to explore multiple cities on a single ticket.
Asia: Emirates’ Asian network is further bolstered through the airline’s 12 codeshare partners and 42 interline partners reaching over 500 popular cities across the Far East, West Asia and Indian Ocean, as well as Middle East.
Australia: Emirates long-standing partnership with Qantas provides access to over 85 Australian cities, while Qantas customers can fly Emirates to Dubai and access over 45 cities in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa beyond Qantas’s existing international network.
Africa: Emirates’ footprint across Africa expands to over 210 regional points through 5 codeshare and 18 interline partners, offering superior connectivity and value for customers with more flight options to smaller regional points across the continent.

Emirates Skywards, the airline’s loyalty programme and Emirates SkyCargo also work closely with codeshare and interline partners to support and complement network and loyalty programme frameworks that ensure both passengers and cargo customers reap the full benefits of the airline’s major partnerships. On the operational side, Emirates Airport Services play a vital role to ensure teams are on hand to assist customers so they can connect seamlessly from one flight to another and access the airline’s Dubai and outstation dedicated lounges.

The article Emirates doubles partnership connectivity in a year first appeared in TravelDailyNews International.