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Dave

Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air announce codeshare agreement for seamless travel to Asia and Australasia

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Virgin Atlantic has exciting news for its customers as it announces the launch of a new codeshare agreement with Korean Air.

This will offer customers more opportunities to fly seamlessly to South Korea and beyond. The agreement is set to launch on 25 March, and customers booking through Virgin Atlantic will have the opportunity to travel directly to Incheon Airport, in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.

But that’s not all, as the agreement will be expanded to include further destinations in Asia and Australasia from June. Customers will be able to connect onwards from Seoul to a variety of destinations throughout Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, and New Zealand. Virgin Atlantic is confident that this codeshare agreement with Korean Air is the first step towards its entry to Seoul and is set to enhance the airline’s network in Asia.

Virgin Atlantic’s recent enrollment into the SkyTeam alliance further enhances customers benefits. Customers can earn and redeem Virgin Points and take advantage of SkyPriority benefits. As one of the founding members of the SkyTeam alliance, Korean Air is an excellent partner for Virgin Atlantic in the codeshare agreement.

From May, services to Shanghai, China will resume, alongside an expanded codeshare with IndiGo throughout India and beyond. Flying Club members will be able to take advantage of SkyPriority services at Seoul Incheon, including priority check-in, baggage handling, and boarding.

Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer, Juha Jarvinen, said,

We’re pleased to launch a codeshare with Korean Air, as we know such agreements bring an array of benefits to our customers.  As one of Asia’s major carriers, Virgin Atlantic customers can benefit from its extensive route network, that will offer more choice throughout Asia and Australasia. 

Our enrolment into SkyTeam, of which Korean Air is a founding member, enhances customers benefits further. Our Flying Club members can enjoy SkyPriority benefits at both London Heathrow and Seoul Incheon as well as earning and redeeming miles across Korean Air’s network.

This codeshare agreement between Virgin Atlantic and Korean Air is something for business travellers to look forward to.

Paul

American Airlines applies for additional service at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport

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American Airlines has submitted an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to operate additional services to Tokyo Haneda from Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

American’s application is a result of the U.S. and Japan reaching a tentative agreement to expand access at Haneda, which would open up to twelve additional daytime slot pairs for U.S. carrier operations.

American Airlines President Robert Isom said,

Tokyo is an important hub for our Pacific Joint Business with Japan Airlines. Enhanced service at Haneda would give our customers better access to downtown Tokyo and open up JAL’s domestic network with flights to destinations like Osaka, Sapporo and Fukuoka.

American currently operates one daily flight between Los Angeles and Haneda, which began in 2016. An additional flight from Los Angeles would provide American’s customers with even more options and a convenient schedule between Tokyo and the airline’s West Coast hub. Additionally, Dallas Fort Worth, American’s largest hub, serves as an important gateway to Asia with proven local and connecting traffic. With two daily flights, customers travelling from Haneda to Dallas Fort Worth would be able to connect to and from more than 800 daily flights and more than 200 destinations throughout American’s vast network.

American’s proposed Haneda service would be operated as part of the airline’s Pacific Joint Business with JAL. The Pacific Joint Business was established in 2011 and covers travel among 11 countries in Asia and North America. It allows the two airlines to coordinate schedules, network and service to give more than 3.1 million annual customers access to up to 23 daily trans-Pacific flights from 15 gateway cities in Asia and North America.