Emirates, Air Canada in tie-up to offer travellers more options

BY Sade Williams/Business a.m.

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, they said in a joint statement.

Both airlines said they plan to establish a codeshare relationship later in 2022 that will offer enhanced consumer travel choices for Air Canada customers to travel to the United Arab Emirates and to destinations beyond Dubai. Emirates customers will also enjoy an enhanced travel experience when travelling to Toronto or to key destinations across the Air Canada network.

According to the airlines, customers will have the ability to book connecting travel between both airlines’ networks with the ease of a single ticket, seamless connectivity at the carriers’ respective global hubs and baggage transfers to their final destinations.

Sir Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline, said: “This is a significant partnership that will enable our customers access to 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,” Clark stressed.

Michael Rousseau, president and chief executive officer, Air Canada, commenting on the development, said: “As we continue pursuing our strategy of expanding our global reach in response to growing opportunities in VFR markets (Visit 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.

“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. 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.”

The airlines explained that in order to further enhance the customer experience, they will also establish reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and reciprocal lounge access for qualifying customers, adding that more details of the partnership and specific codeshare routes will be released when they are finalised as they will be subject to regulatory approvals and final documentation.

Emirates is an award-winning global airline that serves over 130 cities on six continents through its efficient hub in Dubai. It operates the world’s largest fleet of modern wide-body Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft, while Air Canada is Canada’s largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 51 airports in Canada, 51 in the United States and 86 internationally.