Qatar Airways and United Airlines apply to Codeshare

Qatar Airways and United Airlines are seeking government permission to place their codes on each other’s flights under a new codeshare agreement.

Under the agreement, Qatar Airways will significantly expand its presence in the United States, a market it entered this week with scheduled flights from Doha to New York (Newark). Qatar Airways is set to launch daily non-stop scheduled services between Doha and Washington DC on July 19.

Pending regulatory approval, Qatar Airways’ QR flight code on selected services operated by United Airlines will give the Doha-based carrier access to a number of domestic cities across the United States from Washington DC, and on flights from key European gateways to the US.

As part of the agreement, Qatar Airways will apply its QR flight code on:

- Flights operated by United Airlines from Washington DC to more than 50 cities across the US

- Flights operated by United Airlines from London Heathrow, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Rome and Munich to one or all of the following cities – Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC and Chicago.

Michael Whitaker, United's Senior Vice President of Alliances, International and Regulatory Affairs, said, "We are pleased to partner with Qatar Airways to offer our customers service to five new countries as well as expand our current service to the Middle East – one of the fastest growing business regions in the world."

Since November 2005, members of Qatar Airways’ Privilege Club frequent flyer programme have been able to earn and redeem Qmiles on flights operated by United Airlines. Both carriers have also enjoyed a strategic cargo partnership through which the airlines have carried more than 600,000 kilos (1.3 million pounds) of general freight and in excess of two million kilos (4 million pounds) of mail since its inception in early 2006.

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