Air France-KLM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singapore Airlines (SIA) and regional subsidiary SilkAir to codeshare on each other’s flights as of April 27.
Air France will add its ‘AF’ designator code to Singapore Airlines-operated flights beyond Singapore to Melbourne and Sydney (Australia), as well as on SilkAir-operated flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang (Malaysia) and Phuket (Thailand). On a reciprocal basis, Singapore Airlines will add its ‘SQ’ designator code to Air France-operated flights beyond Paris-Charles de Gaulle to 10 destinations – Aberdeen, Bordeaux, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Newcastle, Nice and Toulouse.
Airlines will be able to offer their customers seamless transfers on their shared routes with only one booking and a one-stop luggage check-in through to their final destination.
Air France and Singapore Airlines will later on explore the opportunity to expand the codeshare to other airlines within their respective groups. The agreement is intended to provide customers more options and seamless connectivity when travelling between Europe, South East Asia and Australia. They will also examine the possibility for Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue and Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer members to earn and redeem miles when travelling on the codeshare flight segments.
Patrick Roux, Senior Vice-President Alliances of Air France-KLM group stated: “This new agreement is excellent news for our airline and for our customers. It will significantly improve the connections for Air France customers from Singapore to Australia. This kind of partnership is part of our aim to expand our market position and increase our range of destinations for our customers all around the world.”
Mr Tan Kai Ping, Singapore Airlines Senior Vice President Marketing Planning, said: “We are delighted with our new partnership with Air France-KLM, which offers significant benefits to customers through enhanced connections and increased codeshare destinations. In addition, this new agreement provides a strong foundation for future commercial co-operation opportunities between our two airline groups. It is also another example of our commitment to the Singapore hub and the European market.”