The chief executives of Singapore Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines, Goh Choon Phong and Rickard Gustafson, have signed a joint venture agreement.

The move follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed in January this year and covers routes between Singapore and Scandinavia.

With a signed joint venture agreement, the two Star Alliance carriers can move forward to plan further actions within the wide-ranging partnership, which will go beyond existing codeshare ties to include the co-ordination of flight schedules, joint sales activities and enhanced network connectivity.

Regulatory approval will now be sought from authorities in Singapore and Europe.

The partnership is expected to lead to growth in existing air services between Singapore and Scandinavia, and, subject to market conditions at the appropriate time, pave the way for a new route between Singapore and Stockholm.

SIA currently operates three weekly flights between Singapore and Copenhagen in a codeshare partnership with SAS.

Goh Choon Phong, chief executive of Singapore Airlines, said: “This agreement is a win-win for SIA and SAS, and benefits our customers by making air travel more convenient between Asia and Scandinavia.

“We look forward to co-ordinating schedules to enable more seamless connections to points in Northern Europe, as well as Asia and Southwest Pacific, through our respective hubs.

“When market conditions allow for it we also look forward to expanding frequency between Singapore and Copenhagen, and adding new destinations in Scandinavia.”