(TAN): Qatar Airways is expanding its strategic codeshare partnership with JetBlue that will offer the US carrier’s passengers more options and convenience to book travel to international destinations. Sales have commenced with the additional codeshare flights starting from April 19 between the US and Doha and May 1 for destinations beyond Doha.
Qatar Airways Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori said: “Despite the pandemic, we at Qatar Airways have continued to expand our US presence by building strong relationships with our strategic airlines partners in the region and constantly optimising our connections between the US and our growing network of over 130 destinations. We are delighted to welcome JetBlue to our extensive global network and offer our American passengers seamless connectivity.”
“By partnering with leading airlines such as Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue, our passengers can easily connect through our 12 US gateways to more than 220 markets across the US and over 130 destinations world-wide,” he added.
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JetBlue Head of revenue and planning, Scott Laurence, said: “JetBlue and Qatar Airways lead the industry with our award-winning service and exceptional inflight experiences, which is why our partnership has been such a great success for the past decade. Now, with an expanded codeshare covering nearly a dozen major US gateways or connecting points, even more travellers can enjoy a seamless global travel experience between our airlines.”
This expanded codeshare agreement builds upon the two airline’s partnership that first began in 2011. Qatar Airways passengers already benefit from access to more than 50 destinations across JetBlue’s network. As part of the expanded codeshare agreement, JetBlue passengers can now book travel with Qatar Airways to and from nine of airline’s US gateways — Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Atlanta (ATL), Houston (IAH), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK), Philadelphia (PHL), and Washington (IAD).
The expansion of this strategic partnership will provide more flexible travel options between the US, the Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
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JetBlue passengers will also be able to book travel on seven routes beyond Doha, to and from Amman (AMM), Entebbe (EBB), Kuala Lumpur (KUL), Maldives (MLE), Muscat (MCT), Salalah (SLL), Seychelles (SEZ) and Singapore (SIN). In the short-term and subject to regulatory approvals, JetBlue will be adding many more destinations to its virtual network in cooperation with Qatar Airways across Africa, Asia & The Middle-East including Addis Ababa (ADD), Nairobi (NBO) & Kigali (KGL) enabling further connecting options between North-America and the rest of Qatar Airways’ extensive network.
This expanded codeshare agreement follows recent developments of the strategic partnership with JetBlue throughout the winter season with the addition of Qatar Airways’ code on the U.S. carriers Caribbean flights enabling seamless journeys via JetBlue’s New York (JFK) & Boston (BOS) hubs to Aruba (AUA), Bermuda (BDA), Cayman Islands (GCM), Curacao (CUR), Grenada (GND), St Maarten (SXM), and Saint Lucia (UVF).
This partnership also allows members of both airline’s loyalty programmes to enjoy a wider range of options. Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club and JetBlue’s TrueBlue members will initially benefit from the ability to accrue Qmiles or TrueBlue points later this year. Then, in the future, those benefits will expand with the ability to redeem points on either carrier’s flights.
