Cathay Pacific Airways and Qatar Airways (QA) have announced the launch of a new code-share agreement between the two oneworld alliance airlines. Cathay Pacific formally celebrated its new service between Hong Kong and Doha at a gala event held in Doha Tuesday night. Under a strategic agreement with its oneworld partner QA, Cathay Pacific first started servicing Doha directly March 30, 2014.
The agreement offers Cathay Pacific and Qatar Airways passengers greater flexibility and a wider choice when travelling from Hong Kong to Europe, Africa and the Gulf or from Doha to Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Japan, QA said. The code-share agreement enables passengers to freely book on either airline to an expanded network of destinations, while benefiting from accruing frequent flyer points or miles, together with other oneworld member privileges.
Top-tier members from Cathay Pacific’s The Marco Polo Club and Qatar Airways’ The Privilege Club can now enjoy reciprocal benefits when travelling on flights between Hong Kong and Qatar, including lounge access, extra baggage allowances, priority boarding and many other services, QA said. Effective from April 2014, Cathay Pacific flights between Hong Kong and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns, Adelaide, Auckland, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Seoul will carry the ‘QR’ code, while QA flights between Doha and Jeddah, Nairobi, Athens, Geneva, Madrid, Barcelona and Venice will carry Cathay Pacific’s ‘CX’ code.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Ivan Chu said, “Cathay Pacific is serving the Middle East for more than 30 years and we are committed to developing our presence in this ever-growing market. “Doha is our fourth destination in the region and the launch of the new service will enable travellers here to enjoy the great connectivity Cathay Pacific offers via the Hong Kong hub to our extensive network in Asia, Australia and China.
The launch of the code-share agreement with QA will provide even more travel options for our customers.” QA Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said, “Alliances and code shares alike are playing an increasingly important role in the airline industry today. This will continue long into the future. “Becoming a member of oneworld last October was one of the most significant landmarks in Qatar Airways’ history. It has strengthened our competitive offering and the advent of these new code-share routes with our partner Cathay Pacific will expand travel options for Qatar Airways passengers across routes in Australasia and North Asia.”
Source : Qatar News Agency
