Qatar Airways has announced a new code-share agreement with Comair, a franchisee of British Airways, which will add three new African destinations to the Doha-based airline’s route map and provide additional flight options to travellers in Cape Town and Durban.
Comair, which this year celebrates its 70th year of operations, is based in South Africa and is an affiliate member of the oneworld alliance through its licence agreement with British Airways.
With effect from February 23, Qatar Airways will place its code on flights that have British Airways livery, operated by Comair, from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban, Harare, Victoria Falls and Port Elizabeth. Qatar Airways will also place its code on flights operated by Comair from Cape Town to Durban and Port Elizabeth.
Comair has hub operations in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, South Africa, easily connecting onto Qatar Airways-operated flights to Doha and beyond to more than 150 destinations, according to a statement.
Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways Group chief executive, said: “Africa is on the move and travellers deserve better itineraries for their travel needs. Expanding our network with Comair was a natural progression of our investment in Africa and our desire to make it easier to visit this exciting part of the world, and for the families, businesses and organisations based here to connect globally.”
Erik Venter, Comair’s CEO, noted: “We are delighted to be adding Qatar Airways to our growing list of strategic airline partnerships and are excited about exploring additional opportunities to expand the relationship. We look forward to welcoming Qatar Airways’ customers on board our flights.”
This partnership complements the recent expansion of Qatar Airways operations into South Africa. In December, Qatar Airways started a four-times-a-week service to Durban and increased services from 10 weekly flights to Johannesburg to 14.
Qatar Airways passengers wishing to explore Africa can connect onto Comair-operated flights by visiting www.qatarairways.com, contacting the reservations contact centre on 40230000 or by booking through a preferred travel agent.
