China Southern, British Airways deepen business cooperation
Updated 22:52, 17-Dec-2019
By Zheng Yibing
01:59

Two major international airlines, China Southern and British Airways, signed a fresh business agreement at Beijing's Daxing International Airport on Tuesday.

The deal will enable both airlines to share code on their 14 flight routes.

They will cooperate on scheduling and pricing, providing customers with more flexible flight options, an attractive range of fares and enhanced frequent flyer benefits, according to the two companies. 

China Southern and British Airways signed a joint business agreement in Beijing on Tuesday. /CGTN photo

China Southern and British Airways signed a joint business agreement in Beijing on Tuesday. /CGTN photo

"The alliance will open more frequent flights between the two countries, helping passengers reach more destinations, either in China, the UK, or other parts of Europe," said Wu Guoxiang, senior vice president of Intl. & Corporate Relations at China Southern.

Neil Chernoff, director of Networks & Alliances, British Airways feels excited about the joint business.

"We're looking forward to, after signing this joint business to be able to implement and be able to offer that seamless service for both of our customers," he said.

In recent years, the China-to-UK air travel market has grown rapidly. 

From September of 2018 to August of this year, there were about 2.4 million trips between the two countries, a year-on-year increase of over 18 percent. 

That has prompted both airlines to seek more joint business in Asia, especially in China.

Customers will initially benefit from 31 direct flights a week between London and six Chinese locations. This will expand both airlines' extensive networks. 

China Southern and British Airways both moved one of their "dual hubs" into Beijing's Daxing International Airport this year. /China Southern Photo

China Southern and British Airways both moved one of their "dual hubs" into Beijing's Daxing International Airport this year. /China Southern Photo

Wu said that China Southern will have more strategic partners to build the international route networks together.

It's the second such deal reached between the two airlines since launching a previous code sharing agreement in 2017. 

The deal came after both moved their hubs to Beijing's Daxing International Airport, the world's largest single terminal airport, which just opened in September.

And the two airlines hope to make this an opportunity to increase cooperation and bring more conveniences.