The news has been expected for several months now. It remains subject to validation by the regulatory authorities. But it is now official: Air France KLM and Singapore Airlines will be sharing their codes. The agreement is due to come into force in a few days' time, on 27 April exactly. It will concern a dozen destinations in France and in Europe - namely Aberdeen, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Newcastle, Nice and Toulouse - to which Singapore Airlines will now apply its code (SQ) for flights operated by Air France. from Paris CDG. In exchange, the French carrier will do the same with its code (AF) on flights operated by Singapore Airlines between Singapore and the airports of Melbourne and Sydney. SilkAir routes to Kuala Lumpur, Penang (Malaysia) and Phuket (Thailand) are also covered by this agreement.
" This new agreement is excellent news for both our company and our customers. "says Patrick Roux, Director of Alliances at Air France-KLM. This will considerably improve connections for Air France customers between Singapore and Australia. This type of partnership is part of our drive to expand our market position andexpand our range of destinations for our customers around the world ".
a solid basis for developing future business cooperation opportunities
The two airline groups have no intention of stopping there. They are already thinking about extending their cooperation to loyalty programmes and to extend this code-sharing to other airlines within their group. Tan Kai Ping, Senior Vice President Marketing Planning at Singapore Airlines, confirms that other tie-ups are being considered: " This new agreement constitutes a solid basis for developing future business cooperation opportunities between our two groups. This is a further illustration of our commitment to grow both on our Singapore hub and on the European market ".
Over and above the commercial opportunities offered by such a merger, this agreement confirms the increasingly obvious porosity between the two companies. three major airline allianceswhich now allow member airlines to enter into partnerships with external carriers, or even to offer their own services. members of competing alliances - Star Alliance, in the case of Singapore Airlines.
