American Airlines announced on Tuesday that they have signed a new strategic partnership and codeshare agreement with award-winning Qatar airways, a premier member of the oneworld®alliance in the Arabian Peninsula.
Today, American Airlines announced that they have renewed their codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways in a first step to increase commercial cooperation, bolster connectivity and create new travel opportunities for guests of both carriers. Once the codeshare is restored, American Airlines will explore the addition of new routes from U.S. gateways to Qatar Airways primary base in Doha, Qatar. In Tuesday’s announcement, American Airlines’ Chairman and CEO, Doug Parker said,
Our goal is to continue to expand and deepen our global partnerships to complement American’s network and create more choice for our customers. The issues that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been addressed, and we believe resuming our codeshare agreement will allow us to provide service to markets that our customers, team members and shareholders value, including new growth opportunities for American Airlines. We look forward to the new cooperation between our airlines and hope to build an even stronger relationship with Qatar Airways over time.”
Also commenting on the renewed strategic partnership and codeshare agreement, Qatar Airways Group’s Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, added,
“We are very pleased to secure this strategic partnership with American Airlines – an agreement between two successful and ambitious airlines with a shared common purpose to enhance the customer experience. The deal will bring together two of the world’s largest airline networks, increasing choices for millions of passengers and providing seamless connectivity to a significant number of new destinations, in line with Qatar Airways’ successful growth strategy. We have moved on from past issues and look forward to working closely with American Airlines to build a world-leading partnership for all our customers. This agreement will harness our complementary strengths and resources and enable more customers to experience Qatar Airways’ award-winning product quality.”
Subject to government approvals, American Airlines will place their code on select Qatar Airways’ flights between the U.S. and Doha. This will provide seamless connectivity for American’s customers between the U.S. and Doha, as well as further destinations in Qatar Airways’ extensive network in the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia – destinations not currently served by American. Likewise, Qatar Airways will place their code on flights beyond American’s DFW, ORD, JFK, PHL, MIA and LAX hubs, including international flights to and from Europe, the Caribbean and Central/South America. Further commenting on Tuesday’s announcement, American Airlines’ Senior Vice President of Network Strategy, Vasu Raja said,
“This partnership with Qatar is another step to increase our connectivity, while providing more choice and making travel easier and more accessible for our customers. As we look to build out our truly global network and create a strong presence in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, the renewed codeshare with Qatar Airways will be one of the cornerstones of making that a reality.”
Celebrated and award-winning Qatar Airways was named the ‘World’s Best Airline’ in the 2019 World Airline Awards managed by Skytrax. The carrier was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East,’ ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and awarded the title for ‘Best Business Class Seat.’ Qatar Airways is the only airline ever to have received the prestigious “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title five times. The national carrier of the State of Qatar, Qatar Airways serves over 170 global destinations with a fleet of more than 250 modern aircraft. The airline’s primary hub is located at Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha, Qatar.
American Airlines operates 6,800 daily flights to over 365 destinations in 61 countries. Serving over 200 million customers annually, the airline has invested over $28 billion since 2013 in its people, products and services. American Airlines currently operates the youngest fleet as compared to the other large U.S. network carriers.
Source(s): American Airlines, Qatar Airways