Emirates Launches Codeshare With Neighboring Gulf Air

Beginning this December, Emirates and Gulf Air will embark on a unilateral codeshare partnership as both carriers officially signed a new agreement yesterday. The codesharing between the two Middle Eastern airlines will offer connections and extensive choices for Gulf Air passengers connecting to Dubai and onwards across Emirates’ expansive route network.

A new partnership in the Middle East

The new agreement was signed on the first day of the Bahrain Airshow to signify a growing relationship between both airlines following the framework of cooperation established last year. President of Emirates, Tim Clark, expressed his enthusiasm by saying:

“We are pleased to partner with Gulf Air to offer their customers greater access and strong connection opportunities to unique destinations on our network, complemented by Emirates’ signature in-flight service and hospitality throughout their journey from Dubai. We look forward to working together and achieving more with Gulf Air shortly and further strengthening our relationship.”

Gulf Air will place its marketing code ‘GF’ on Emirates-operated flights beyond Dubai to several of the most attractive global tourism hotspots and offer new vacation options for its passengers. These destinations across Emirates’ network include but are not limited to, Algeria, Budapest, Bali, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Prague, Taipei, and Sao Paulo, among others.

An abundance of benefits for passengers

In addition to the vast route network, the new partnership will also offer passengers the convenience of combined ticketing and check-in, a unified policy and seamless transfers for baggage, and competitive single fares on a multi-airline journey when connecting on Emirates. Passengers can book their travel on Gulf Air’s website, through Gulf Air’s point of sales and online travel agencies, as well as with local travel agents.

Given how rare it is for Middle Eastern carriers to establish a codeshare partnership with each other, Captain Waleed Al Alawi, Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer, celebrated the new agreement as he commented:

“Our relationship with Emirates has always been strong, and today we are reaching a higher level of collaboration with many more opportunities on the horizon between the two carriers. This partnership will empower us to offer passengers a more elevated experience and widen their travel options.”

A year of partnerships for Emirates

Establishing a codesharing partnership with Gulf Air is just the latest for Emirates, which has been inking several codeshare agreements for the better half of this year. One significant agreement signed was the somewhat surprising partnership between Emirates and United Airlines in September.

Then the following month, in October, Emirates inked an agreement with Batik Air to expand its presence across the Indonesian Archipelago. And in November, Emirates inked an agreement with Air Canada, and though the Gulf Air codeshare was signed this month, it would only begin in December.

Having established partnerships with over 26 airlines, Emirates has significantly expanded its network reach to over 300 cities. It would be interesting to see if the monthly launches of new codeshare agreements will continue into next year, and it would be equally curious to see which airline Emirates will partner with next.