Singapore Airlines continues to spread its influence in Asia with an agreement to pursue a strategic partnership with Thai Airways.
This follows last week’s announcement of a US$250 million SIA investment in Air India, alongside an agreement between SIA and Tata Sons to merge Air India and full-service carrier, Vistara.
The MoM signed between THAI and Singapore Airlines will see the airlines progressively code sharing more extensively on each other’s services and exploring wide-ranging commercial collaboration.
Goh Choon Phong, CEO, Singapore Airlines, said: “This is a win-win opportunity to support the growth of our respective hubs and enhance the options and service offerings for our customers.”
In the initial phase, THAI and SIA will codeshare on each other’s flight services between Singapore and Bangkok.
THAI will also codeshare on SIA’s flight services to Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa; Houston, Los Angeles, New York (John F. Kennedy International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport), San Francisco, and Seattle in the US; as well as Vancouver in Canada, by the first quarter of 2023, subject to regulatory approval.
Additional codeshare arrangements to points in both airlines’ networks will also be explored.
Suvadhana Sibunruang, THAI acting CEO, said, “THAI and Singapore Airlines have shared a long-term relationship. The codeshare arrangements will greatly benefit our customers in a range of service areas including the frequent flyer programme, customer experiences, lounge access, and airport ground services.
“The collaboration strengthens both the airlines’ networks as members of Star Alliance.”