For those of you who need to connect in Lisbon, Porto or Dubai, there might be some good news, as Emirates and TAP Air Portugal have announced a deepening of their relationship.
The airlines have s signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand the codeshare partnership currently in place between both airlines.
The new agreement will see customers of both airlines benefit from connectivity on many new routes across the Americas, North Africa and East Asia. Emirates and TAP Air Portugal will also explore ways to enhance the co-operation on their respective frequent flyer programmes including reciprocal earning and redemption opportunities and popular benefits such as lounge access.
In addition, both airlines plan on supporting each other’s stopover programmes in Dubai and Lisbon, with Emirates also supporting TAP Air Portugal as it looks at potential expansion opportunities in the UAE.
TAP Air Portugal will place its code on Emirates’ flights to East Asia destinations such as Taipei, Tokyo, Osaka, Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Male, Jakarta, Denpasar, Manila, Hanoi, as well as Barcelona and Mexico City.
Emirates customers will be able to connect to domestic destinations in Portugal, as well as TAP Air Portugal’s flights to cities in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Morocco, Tunisia, Gambia, and Cape Verde, expanding connectivity in Africa and the Americas.
The move by the two airlines will be subject to approval by regulatory bodies – with it expected to come into effect from the 1st May 2020.
In Quotes
Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said:
“Emirates and TAP Air Portugal have enjoyed a mutually successful codeshare partnership for the past eight years. We are delighted to expand this relationship and look forward to delivering even more benefits to our customers.”
Arik De, TAP Air Portugal’s Chief Revenue & Network Officer said:
“TAP Air Portugal is pleased to enhance our Emirates partnership, allowing our guests greater geographic access. We look forward to taking Emirates customers to more cities within Portugal, to our destinations in the Americas and North Africa, and for them to benefit from our Stopover Portugal program.”
More options… when you can travel
Airlines are positioning themselves for the recovery – when it comes – so they can scoop up demand as needed. The partnership with TAP Air Portugal and Emirates is different, to say the least. Emirates has served both Lisbon and Porto from Dubai in the past. With them wishing to aid TAP to launch services between Portugal and Dubai, that will be a new traffic flow for the airline – one it could capitalise on if implement right.
But it will need more than that to tempt customer, such as coordinated timetables, as well as cross-earning and lounge privileges.
We’ll have to see how this pans out over the next few months and see what real benefits there are to the passenger when the codeshares take effect.
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