Air Canada and Emirates Airline will this year implement a codeshare deal that the carriers say will significantly expand the reach of their respective networks.
The deal adds another North American codeshare partner to Emirates’ roster following a fallout last decade with major US airlines.
Air Canada on 12 July announced the deal, under which the Montreal-based carrier intends to sell tickets on “key” Emirates flights, says Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau.
The deal will give Air Canada’s customers “options” when travelling to Dubai, and beyond from Dubai, Air Canada says. Under the agreement, “select Air Canada flights” will also carry Emirates’ code.
Air Canada does not specify how many or which routes the deal will encompass, and says the agreement still requires regulatory approval.
“Further details of the partnership and specific codeshare routes will be announced when finalised,” Air Canada says.
Emirates president Tim Clark says the partnership will expand his airline’s presence in “Canada and the Americas”, via Emirates’ flights to Toronto and the USA. Emirates flies from Dubai to Toronto and about a dozen major US cities, according to schedule data published by Diio.
“It also opens up many new route combinations for travellers across Emirates’ and Air Canada’s extensive networks in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia”, Clark says.
The partnership stands to expand Emirates reach after a fallout between it and major US airlines last decade.
American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines had alleged that Emirates and two other Gulf carriers – Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways – received unfair government subsidies.
That dispute ruptured ties between the US and Gulf airlines, though diplomats settled the rift in 2018.
Emirates has a codeshare deal with JetBlue Airways.
