Emirates and Garuda Indonesia have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a codeshare partnership.

The new partnership allows customers to enjoy seamless connectivity on new routes across the Americas, Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Emirates and Garuda Indonesia will also explore opportunities to cooperate on their respective frequent flyer programmes, to enable customers of both airlines to earn and redeem loyalty points for reward tickets, upgrades and other exclusive benefits.

Subject to required regulatory approvals, the codeshare agreement is expected to come into effect from January, with travel benefits stretching across 18 routes on both airlines’ networks.

Adnan Kazim, chief commercial officer, Emirates, said: “We are pleased to forge a codeshare partnership with Garuda Indonesia to provide our customers with access to additional destinations in Indonesia and which also allows them to enjoy seamless and convenient connectivity to eight domestic destinations to and from Dubai and to our global network through Jakarta, and three destinations through Denpasar.

“Indonesia is an important market for Emirates and our partnership with Garuda Indonesia is testament to Emirates’ commitment to continuously strengthen our network, and complement our offering.”

Under the codeshare agreement, Emirates customers will be able to connect to and from Denpasar (DPS), Surabaya (SUB), Makassar (UPG), Balikpapan (BPN), Manado (MDC), Medan (MES), Padang (PDG) and Solo (SOC) airports on flights operated by Garuda Indonesia from Jakarta (CGK), to Dubai and beyond with a single ticket.

Additionally, routes directly connecting Denpasar (DPS) with Surabaya (SUB) and Makassar (UPG), will be available for passengers’ convenience.

Tickets can be purchased online on Emirates’ website or through Emirates’ local sales offices and travel agents for travel starting from January 2nd.

Garuda Indonesia will also add their marketing code to flights on eight routes, operated by Emirates, including between Dubai and Jakarta (CGK), Denpasar (DPS), Bahrain (BAH), Moscow (DME), Johannesburg (JNB), Cairo (CAI) London (LHR) and Manchester (MAN).

Irfan Setiaputra, chief executive, Garuda Indonesia, said: “We are delighted to announce our partnership with Emirates that gives their inbound passengers seamless access to top travel destinations in Indonesia connected by Garuda’s domestic network. Outbound Garuda passengers will also benefit from this partnership as it gives them access to a wider range of destinations served by Emirates.”