KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd and Qatar Airways have renewed their long-standing relationship by strengthening strategic cooperation, allowing both airlines to work closely together across multiple areas of the business.
The national carrier said the partnership offered an unrivalled range of value-added services to passengers.
With the enhanced partnership, both airlines will leverage each other's network strengths and provide more access for passengers to travel to new destinations beyond their individual networks, while offering new and exclusive product to their customers soon.
Malaysia Airlines passengers will enjoy seamless connectivity to popular destinations in Europe, Africa, Middle East and the Americas with Qatar Airways' extensive network via Doha, while the latter's passengers will gain better access to the wider domestic Malaysia market and key destinations in Asia.
These include Penang, Langkawi, Medan (Indonesia) operated by Malaysia Airlines via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) hub.
Building on the close links between Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways' networks and rapid expansion of codeshare flights, the two oneworld partners also agreed to maximise synergies in other areas of the business such as air cargo, operations or commercial services.
This will create a game-changing innovative synergy for both carriers in leading the new travel demand ahead.
Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said it was delighted to have taken the next important step with its close oneworld partner.
"This partnership provides better efficiencies and a more comprehensive network for our passengers, while boosting the growth of traffic flow via KLIA, which will serve as a primary gateway to Malaysia domestic and selected Southeast Asian region destinations," he said.
Izham said the strategic partnership would be an important part of the airline's long-term business plan, as it was keen exploring more strategic opportunities and establishing deeper partnerships.
"At the same time, it underscores the commitment of both airlines to provide passengers with safer, and increased choice of flights, wider destinations and greater flexibility on top of the excellent service hospitality throughout their travels with us.
"We believe the strategic partnership will put both full-service carriers on a stronger footing to compete in the highly competitive market as we continue to navigate recovery of the pandemic. With the reopening of international borders and an increase in the demand for air travel," he added.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker said this was a significant moment for the carrier after celebrating 20 years of serving Malaysia.
"This new strategic cooperation with our oneworld partner, Malaysia Airlines, further cements our commitment to the country," he said.
Akbar said the partnership would also serve to link both Qatar Airways' networks and allow the airline to work together across different aspects of the business therefore creating exciting opportunities for its joint passengers and airline.
"As we move forwards a post-pandemic world, successful business is driven by strong partnerships, and this close cooperation with Malaysia Airlines is a firm example of how symbiotic international partnerships can pave way to industry recovery.
Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways launched their codeshare cooperation in 2004 and since then, both airlines had significantly expanded the partnership in recent years.
To date, they offer 62 codeshare destinations in Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Africa.