Emirates grows Africa presence with Airlink deal
Emirates and Airlink have announced the expansion of their existing partnership into a unilateral codeshare agreement.
The deal is designed to give travellers to and from South Africa convenient access to more than 40 domestic and regional destinations across 12 African countries.
The extended codeshare provides connectivity to Emirates’ customers not offered by any other carrier in Africa, and augments the long-standing partnership that Emirates has with South African Airways.
The move comes as Emirates resumes its flights to South Africa and ramps up its operations to provide customers with enhanced connectivity via its gateways Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
The connectivity provided by the new codeshare between Emirates and Airlink will offer competitive fares, combined ticketing, and seamless baggage transfers when connecting between both airlines.
ADVERTISEMENT
Customers travelling to South Africa can now transfer from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban to domestic points like Bloemfontein, George, Upington, Nelspruit, Hoedspruit, Kimberley, Skukuza, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Sishen, Mthatha and Port Elizabeth.
Points across southern Africa like Gaborone, Kasane, Vilanculos, Lubumbashi, Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Maseru, Antananarivo, Pemba, Tete, Maun, Victoria Falls, Walvis Bay, Maputo, Windhoek, Harare, Lusaka, Ndola, Bulawayo and Livingstone are also included.
Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer, Emirates Airline, said: “The expansion of the Emirates-Airlink partnership marks an important step forward in our relationship.
“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.
“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.”