Qantas today confirmed that it is negotiating a commercial agreement covering a range of cooperative activities with China Eastern Airlines.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Geoff Dixon, said the discussions included a proposed codeshare arrangement to begin late next month.

“Qantas has sought IASC approval for this as a prelude to any agreement with China Easten, which is regarded as one of China’s best commercial airlines,” he added.

Mr Dixon said the application proposed that each carrier would codeshare on the other’s flights between Australia and China from 28 March.

Qantas would operate three return Boeing 767-300 services each week between Sydney and Shanghai, while China Eastern would offer the same frequency of flights using an A340 aircraft between Sydney, Shanghai and Beijing.

Mr Dixon said that the proposed codeshare arrangement would enable Qantas to offer its passengers continued access to the Chinese capital Beijing.

Qantas announced last month that it would discontinue the Beijing leg of existing Sydney-Shanghai-Beijing services from 28 March.
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