Air Seychelles and Cathay Pacific Airways ink codeshare deal |22 November 2013
Air Seychelles is to expand significantly its reach into Asia and Australia, after signing a codeshare agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier.
The agreement, signed by Air Seychelles’ chief executive officer Cramer Ball and Cathay Pacific general manager Revenue Management James Tong, will allow the airlines to introduce a comprehensive range of codeshare and interline air services, subject to regulatory approvals.
It will see the iconic island carrier place its ‘HM’ code on five Cathay Pacific flights per week between Hong Kong and Perth, six flights per week each between Hong Kong and Melbourne, Seoul, and three flights per week from Hong Kong to Johannesburg.
Cathay Pacific will codeshare on six flights per week between Hong Kong and Seychelles, and two flights per week from Seychelles to Abu Dhabi.
Subsequent phases of the agreement will explore codesharing to additional points in Asia and the Seychelles archipelago, and will include guest benefits, such as airport lounge access and frequent flyer programme reciprocity, including priority check-in, and excess baggage allowances for top tier programme members.
Air Seychelles’ chief executive officer, Cramer Ball, said the new codeshare partnership with Cathay Pacific Airways would enable Air Seychelles to tap into Asia’s rapidly growing travel market, which in recent years has become an important source of tourism growth for Seychelles.
“We are delighted to enter this deal with one of the world’s leading airlines. Our partnership with Cathay Pacific will go a long way to support the growing demand for flights between Seychelles and China, as well as Asia generally. Both airlines are now poised to benefit from that demand.
“Cathay Pacific’s celebrated inflight service, combined with our unique and world famous Creole warmth, makes for a powerful proposition, one that we are confident will appeal to the travelling public.
“This deal is a win-win for both airlines, and we look forward to strengthening our affiliation with our new friends at Cathay Pacific in the future,” said Mr Ball.
Demand for travel between Seychelles and Asia has grown at a rapid pace in the last two years, with Chinese tourism figures alone up 273 per cent since 2011, and up 91 per cent in the rest of the Far East.
In March, Air Seychelles launched flights to Hong Kong, offering 1,524 seats per week between Hong Kong and Seychelles via Abu Dhabi.
John Slosar, Cathay Pacific Airways’ chief executive, said: “We are pleased to be able to offer our passengers yet another new destination through this important codeshare agreement. This new partnership with Air Seychelles will boost both business and leisure travel between Hong Kong and Seychelles and provide passengers travelling from Seychelles with more choice and flexibility when travelling through our superb Hong Kong hub to connect to the network of Cathay Pacific. We look forward to welcoming guests from Air Seychelles onto our flights soon.”
Air Seychelles has also implemented an interline e-ticketing functionality with Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Dragonair to provide additional seamless booking and ticketing opportunities for each other’s passengers.
Mr Ball said: “Our interline collaboration with Cathay Pacific Airways offers our guests, on a single combined ticket, additional connections and flexible travel options to cities such as Manila, Osaka, Tokyo, Hanoi, and Taipei, providing more opportunities for global travellers to experience the beauty and culture of Seychelles, and our residents to visit the world.”
Joel Morgan, Seychelles’ Minister for Home Affairs and Transport and chairman of Air Seychelles, said: “This impressive partnership with Cathay Pacific, Air Seychelles’ first in Asia, is another significant milestone for our national airline. Guests of Cathay Pacific Airways now have a new exquisite holiday choice in Seychelles, which they can experience alone or in combination with other stops in Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi or Hong Kong.
“The deal is a great example of our airline’s pledge to make Seychelles more accessible to emerging markets and of our strategy to create alliances which enhance our network and marketing reach in a measured way. Cathay Pacific’s extensive route network also offers further expansion opportunities into Asia and beyond, subject to regulatory approvals.
“Thanks to these partnerships, our brand has been placed directly in front of millions of new customers, and the partnerships have delivered a major source of revenue growth for our company, contributing to our goal of sustainable profitability.”
The codeshare agreement with Cathay Pacific Airways brings to five the number of Air Seychelles codeshare partners, including equity partner, Etihad Airways. Earlier this year, Air Seychelles signed partnerships with airberlin, Czech Airlines and South African Airways.
Tickets went on sale as of yesterday for travel from December 9, 2013 and can be purchased online via www.airseychelles.com. Alternatively, guests can purchase tickets through the Air Seychelles’ call centre at +248 4 38 10 13, through travel agents, or the airline’s sales offices.
Codeshare flight schedule:
Hong Kong (HKG) – Melbourne (MEL)
Flight No. From To Departure/Arrival Days of operation
CX 163/HM 5120 Hong Kong Melbourne 1020/2235 Mon, Wed, Fri
CX 134/HM 5121 Melbourne Hong Kong 0845/1510 Mon, Wed, Fri
Hong Kong (HKG) – Perth (PER)
Flight No. From To Departure/Arrival Days of operation
CX 171/HM 5118 Hong Kong Perth 1455/2235 Mon, Wed, Fri
CX 136/HM 5117 Perth Hong Kong 0750/1535 Mon, Fri
Hong Kong (HKG) – Seoul (ICN)
Flight No. From To Departure/Arrival Days of operation
CX 418/HM 5178 Hong Kong Seoul 1405/1830 Mon, Wed, Fri
CX 417/HM 5177 Seoul Hong Kong 1020/1315 Mon, Wed, Fri
Hong Kong (HKG) – Johannesburg (JNB)
Flight No. From To Departure/Arrival Days of operation
CX 749/HM 5160 Hong Kong Johannesburg 2355/0645+1 Mon, Wed, Sat