Qatar Airways has announced that the first stage of codeshare cooperation with China Southern Airlines has begun with the Chinese carrier placing its code on Qatar Airways flights between Guangzhou and Doha.
Flights are already available for sale as the first codeshare flight was initiated on 27 December 2020. The codeshare is the first step in building the business relationship between the airlines, as Qatar Airways acquired five percent of China Southern Airlines in December 2018.
Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori said, “We are delighted to begin codeshare cooperation with China Southern Airlines, providing our passengers seamless connectivity via the Best Airport in the Middle East to more than 60 destinations across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.”
“Since Qatar Airways Group’s investment in China Southern Airlines in 2018, our two airlines have worked closely to develop opportunities to enhance the customer experience for our millions of passengers traveling via the Best Airport in the Middle East, Hamad International Airport. The beginning of codeshare flights is the natural first step and we look forward to further deepening our close relationship with China Southern Airlines in the future.”
The codeshare flights will allow China Southern Airlines’ passengers to book Qatar Airway flights to travel to over 60 destinations in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, along with the flights between Guangzhou and Doha. Once current restrictions for traveling in and out of China are lifted, the China carrier will codeshare flights with Qatar Airways between Beijing and Doha.
“We have great expectations for the partnership between Qatar Airways and China Southern Airlines. During 2020, our global airline industry has faced unprecedented challenges and we look forward to early recovery. We believe that bilateral cooperation will be an important element in the process of industry recovery and greatly promote air connectivity among countries and regions,” China Southern Airlines SVP Corporate and International Relations Wu Guoxiang said.
“Our collaboration with Qatar Airways is just one of these powerful combinations. Qatar Airways is a Five-Star Airline by SKYTRAX, with award-winning inflight service and innovative products and China Southern is committed to developing world-class service brands that combine ‘affinity and refinement’ to deliver an extraordinary travel experience to all passengers.”
Qatar Airways has also announced that passengers will be offered fee-free refunds and unlimited date changes for all tickets issued before 30 April 2021 for travel completed by 31 December 2021. The latest update to their flexible booking policy aims to provide passengers with peace of mind when traveling, especially due to the constant changes in travel regulations worldwide. The airline also aims to make the option to exchange tickets for a travel voucher with 10% additional value, a permanent feature for all customers booking travel via qatarairways.com. To redeem the voucher, passengers apply online and receive the voucher within 48 hours.
