Emirates and flydubai revealed today strong passenger numbers for the first six months of their partnership, illustrating the tremendous positive response from customers, and the successful start of the expanded codeshare partnership which was announced in July 2017.

The first codeshare flights began at the end of October 2017.  Between November 2017 and March 2018, over 400,000 passengers have taken advantage of the partnership and more than 250,000 passengers have already planned their trip for the year ahead.

The partnership initially began with codeshare flights to 29 cities, and this has quickly expanded to meet growing demand as customers realise the benefits of increased flight frequencies, expanded access to global destinations on a single ticket, the convenience of checking in their baggage through to the final destination, smooth transfers during transit in Dubai, and much more.

Emirates currently flies to 141 passenger destinations. Last year, the airline launched new passenger routes to Newark via Athens, Zagreb and Phnom Penh, and later this year, Emirates will begin services to London Stansted and Santiago de Chile. Flydubai currently flies to a total of 97 destinations, 80 of which are not served by Emirates, bringing the total combined network offering to 206 unique destinations.

Both Dubai-based airlines will continue to offer customers greater choice and flexibility across their networks, with codeshares to more than 90 destinations today. New codeshare flights recently launched include Krakow, Dubrovnik and Kinshasa with more destinations expected in the coming months such as Catania from June 13, Thessaloniki from June 15 and Helsinki from October 11.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saaed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Group and chairman of flydubai, said: “We’re really pleased with how well the Emirates and flydubai partnership is going – based on bookings and the feedback from our customers and trade partners. Customers now have the best of both worlds when they fly on our extensive joint network, with increased choice, flexibility and convenience when planning their trips. We have seen a strong demand for travel on combined Emirates-flydubai itineraries from Europe and the United States to the Middle East and West Asian destinations.”

He added: “With this partnership, Dubai as a destination benefits from the enhanced connectivity and new travel flows. As a busy aviation hub, Dubai also benefits from the better schedule co-ordination between its two home airlines. It’s a win-win situation.”

Smooth journeys
Emirates and flydubai will continue to offer travel experiences reflecting their individual brands. For bookings under the codeshare, Emirates passengers will receive complimentary meals and the Emirates checked baggage allowance on flights operated by flydubai in Business and Economy class.

Connecting via Dubai’s ultra-modern hub offers a smooth transfer experience and under the partnership, passengers will benefit from a reduced minimum connection time of 120 minutes between Emirates’ home in Terminal 3 and flydubai’s in Terminal 2.

More benefits for frequent flyers
Emirates Skywards members earn Skywards miles and Skywards Tier Miles on codeshare flights as per the existing Skywards programme.
In addition to the Emirates free checked baggage allowance, Skywards Premium members can also enjoy their extra checked baggage allowances of 20kg (Platinum members) 16kg (Gold members) and 12kg (Silver members) on codeshare flights operated by flydubai.

Skywards Silver, Gold and Platinum members travelling on codeshare flights can access flydubai’s Business Check-in counters and receive priority tags. - TradeArabia News Service