Malaysia Airlines eyes new markets with Turkish Airlines codesharing pact

Malaysia Airlines (MAB) and Turkish Airlines have signed a code-sharing partnership that enables both parties to tap into new markets and provide passengers more travel options. The agreement will also offer more comfortable travel opportunities to passengers, who have already been transported under the existing commercial cooperation between the two airlines since 2017.

Through this cooperation, Turkish Airlines will be offering new destinations in Malaysia and Australia as marketing carrier on Malaysia Airlines operated flights, while MAB will be able to reach Turkey’s domestic destinations. Within the scope of this codeshare cooperation, MAB will place its marketing code and flight number on trunk route (Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul and vis-a-vis) and Ankara, Antalya, İzmir routes operated by Turkish Airlines. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines will place its marketing code and flight number on MAB's Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Auckland and 12 Malaysia domestic flights from Kuala Lumpur.

Captain Izham Ismail, CEO of MAB, said; “Customer choice is treated with the utmost importance at MAB and we are glad that this codeshare agreement will further bolster the options we provide to our customers."

He added that this codeshare will also allow for its passengers to travel to the major cities in Turkey, providing them with even more access for their travels. This opens up the opportunity for more tourists to explore Malaysia, as one of the premier holiday destinations in the Asia Pacific region, and the airline looks forward to extending its Malaysian Hospitality further with all who travel with us.

Turkish Airlines’ chief investment and technology officer, Ahmet Bolat, said with this agreement, it is also committed to providing its passengers with better connection options and taking the passenger experience to a much more comfortable dimension.

"I hope that this important initiative that we have established on a close working environment with MAB will be beneficial for both companies and citizens of both brother countries," he added.

In June this year, Singapore Airlines and MAB partnered to step up co-operative ties and build on the existing codeshare agreement that covers flights between Singapore and Malaysia. The collaboration will also see SIA subsidiaries SilkAir and Scoot, as well as Firefly, the sister airline of MAB involved in the enhancement. Following this announcement, Singaporean netizens on Facebook said they were not keen on paying a premium price for an SIA ticket, and then heading on to fly with MAB which has seen some turbulent times in recent years.

Months later, both airlines announced that they have inked a wide-ranging commercial agreement covering joint marketing activities to develop tourism, the sharing of revenue on flights between Singapore and Malaysia, and expanding codeshare routes. Following this, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) called for public feedback on the proposed commercial cooperation between both airlines.

CCCS is currently assessing whether the proposed commercial cooperation would infringe section 34 of the Competition Act, which prohibits agreements or concerted practices by undertakings which prevent, restrict or distort competition within any market in Singapore.

(Photo courtesy: MAB's Facebook page)