Qatar Airways has strengthened its ties to British Airways owner International Airlines Group (IAG). Their plan to have a revenue-sharing business partnership will take effect on October 30.
The deal followed weeks after Qatar Airways increased its stake in IAG from 15.67pc to a fifth, becoming the FTSE 100 company's largest shareholder.
USA Today reveals the two companies will share a deal that will allow them to cooperate on scheduling and ticket prices. The airlines will be able to offer customer more flexible options by 'code-sharing', resulting on all non-stop flights between Britain and the Qatari capital, Doha, as well as other connecting flights in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Majority of airlines use revenue-share deals where they carry each other's passengers on specific routes, providing customers a greater choice of flights and generating cost and revenue synergies for the carriers. In fact, IAG already operates such a deal with American Airlines Group on the North Atlantic.
IAG chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement that the tie-up followed a deal IAG Cargo had signed with Qatar two years ago: "[The agreement] will also allow us to provide easier journeys with better aligned schedules, more frequencies and improved flight transfers."
The Telegraph said that Qatar Airways snapped up shares in BA's parent company in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the European Union, resulting in the shares of companies in the airline industry falling sharply.
As a government-backed, Qatar Airways owns a huge part of IAG, and raised its stake over the summer to just over 20%. Besides that, IAG controls Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
