Oneworld airlines Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways buttressed their codeshare relationship by inking a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to engage in “strategic cooperation.”
The carriers said in a joint statement that the newly signed accord “will see both airlines working closely together across multiple areas of the business.” The airlines added: “With the enhanced partnership, both airlines will leverage each other’s network strengths and provide more access for passengers to travel to new destinations beyond [the carriers’] individual networks.”
Qatar Airways said its passengers will gain access to the destinations in Asia—including Penang (PEN)) and Medan (KNO) in Indonesia, and Langkawi (LGK), Malaysia—that are served by Malaysia Airlines via its Kuala Lumpur (KUL) hub. Qatar Airways’ passengers will also be able to connect to Malaysia Airlines’ domestic flights from KUL.
Malaysia Airlines said its passengers “will enjoy seamless connectivity to popular destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas with Qatar Airways’ extensive network via Doha (DOH).”
Malaysia Airlines CEO Izham Ismail said: “This partnership will provide better efficiencies and a more comprehensive network for our passengers whilst we further boost the growth of traffic flow via [KUL], which will serve as a primary gateway to the Malaysia domestic [market] and selected Southeast Asian region destinations.”
He added that Malaysia Airlines will continue to “explore more strategic opportunities and establish deeper partnerships [with other airlines].”
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker said: “This partnership will serve to link both our networks and allow us to work together across different aspects of the business.” He added: “This close cooperation with Malaysia Airlines is a firm example of how symbiotic international partnerships can pave the way to industry recovery.”
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