Emirates and South Africa’s Airlink have expanded an interline agreement signed last year into a unilateral codeshare deal.
The two carriers formed an interline partnership in October 2020, giving Emirates’ passengers access to more than 25 domestic destinations in South Africa and 20 more destinations in neighboring countries.
The enhanced agreement covers more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries, as well as combined ticketing and baggage transfers when connecting between both airlines.
Passengers traveling to South Africa can now transfer from Johannesburg (JNB), Cape Town (CPT) and Durban (DUR) to domestic points like Bloemfontein (BFN) and Port Elizabeth (PLZ), as well as international destinations including Dar es Salaam (DAR), Entebbe (EBB) and Windhoek (WDH).
“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,” Emirates CCO Adnan Kazim said.
“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.”
As reported by Routes on Aug. 12, Emirates has increased service from Dubai (DXB) to JNB from daily to 11X-weekly with the addition of four linked flights with DUR. The carrier said the Airlink agreement will run alongside its existing partnership with South African Airways.
“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," said Rodger Foster, CEO and MD of Airlink.
“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.”
Photo credit: Emirates/Airlink
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