China Southern Airlines and Finnair have signed a memorandum of understanding to start codesharing from next April, after securing the necessary regulatory approvals.
Under the deal, China Southern will codeshare on Finnair’s flights from Helsinki to 15 European points including Copenhagen and Stockholm. Finnair will meanwhile place its code on China Southern’s services from Guangzhou to eight Chinese cities including Chongqing and Nanjing, as well as eight Australian and New Zealand points.
In a statement, China Southern adds that the duo also aims to establish a comprehensive long-term strategic partnership to improve service quality and enhance their competitiveness. The partnership will also help China Southern fill its network gap in the Nordic, it adds.
China Southern has announced that it will leave the SkyTeam alliance next year as it pursues new partnerships with carriers around the world. Its partnership with Oneworld carrier Finnair further deepens its connection to the alliance.
Besides having Oneworld carrier American Airlines as a partner, it also codeshares with Qantas, Japan Airlines and British Airways.
FlightGlobal schedules data shows that Finnair has services from Helsinki to Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Chongqing. China Southern does not fly to Finland.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
