Emirates has signed agreements to expand existing interline partnerships with both ITA Airways and Iceland Air.
The agreements will see the separate partnerships expand into ‘full’ codeshare deals that promise to increase connections between Dubai and Europe.
In the case of ITA Airways, the planned codeshare will allow travellers with Emirates to access more domestic destinations in Italy via the Italian carrier’s Rome hub, as well as connect to the Albanian capital of Tirana and the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
ITA Airways passengers will benefit from “significantly enhanced" destination choices via Emirates’ network.
The agreement will “eventually” offer combined ticketing and baggage transfers as well as Italian inbound visitation support and “at a later stage” will also include reciprocal loyalty benefits on both airlines’ frequent flyer programmes.
The codeshare flights will be progressively rolled out “in the coming months” following government and regulatory approvals.
Meanwhile, the carrier’s extended agreement with Iceland Air will provide passengers with access to the latter’s Reykjavik hub, while opening up new destinations in the Middle East and Asia for Iceland Air passengers.
The full roster of destinations included under the agreement will be communicated “at a later stage”.
Once activated, the carrier said travellers will benefit from single-ticket travel with competitive fares, and one-stop baggage check-in.
Emirates deputy president and chief commercial officer, Adnan Kazim, said: “Enhancing our partnerships and boosting our presence in key regions such as Europe is an integral part of our commercial strategy, and underscores our commitment to providing customers flexibility through our partners’ complementary networks.”