Emirates and Air Canada form...

Airlines to establish a codeshare relationship later this year

Emirates and Air Canada have signed a strategic partnership agreement that will create more options for customers when travelling on the carriers’ networks while also enhancing the customer experience throughout the journey.

Set to launch later this year, an Emirates and Air Canada codeshare will offer enhanced travel options for Air Canada customers travelling to the United Arab Emirates and to destinations beyond Dubai.

Emirates customers will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience when travelling to Toronto or other key destinations across the Air Canada network.

Passengers will be able to book connecting travel between both airlines’ networks with a single ticket, with connectivity at the carriers’ respective hubs and baggage transfers to their final destinations.

Emirates Airline president Sir Tim Clark 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 travellers 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.”

Air Canada president and chief executive officer Michael Rousseau added: "As we continue pursuing our strategy of expanding our global reach in response to growing opportunities in VFR markets (visiting friends and relations) 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. This strategic agreement will create network synergies, and Air Canada customers will have additional, convenient options when travelling between Canada and the United Arab Emirates as well as destinations beyond Dubai.

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"We look forward to introducing an 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."

The carriers will also establish reciprocal frequent-flyer benefits and reciprocal lounge access for qualifying customers. Further details of the partnership and specific codeshare routes will be announced in due course.

For more information, visit www.emirates.com and www.aircanada.com