ANA (All Nippon Airways) and
Shanghai Airlines (SAL) have applied for government approval to begin a wide-ranging marketing alliance on September 1, ushering in the first domestic code-share flights between a Chinese and Japanese airline, as well as code-share flights between international gateways
Subject to the go-ahead from the relevant authorities, from September 1 this year,
Shanghai Airlines and ANA will jointly operate 21 flights per week between
Shanghai (Pudong) and Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka (Kansai): one ANA daily return flight between Tokyo and
Shanghai will carry the
Shanghai Airlines' code (FM), as will two daily return flights between Osaka and Shanghai.
Shanghai Airlines' daily Shanghai-Osaka return service will also operate under the ANA code (NH). This will bring the total number of flights carrying the ANA code between Japan and China to 161 per week.
For the first time in the history of cooperation between Japan and China, domestic flights will also be covered by the agreement. One ANA-operated daily flight between Osaka (Kansai) and Tokyo (Haneda) will carry the FM code. Likewise, one
Shanghai Airlines-operated daily flight will use the NH code between
Shanghai and Shenzhen, as will two daily flights between
Shanghai and Guangzhou. In total, 28 flights per week.
The agreement will ease passenger connections between international and domestic sectors, in Japan and China, and give passengers the convenience of travelling under a single airline code. At the same time it will give both airlines greater exposure in each other's markets, and expand their international networks and capacity.
"We are proud to be part of the first bilateral alliance between a Chinese and Japanese airline, which not only brings the convenience of a tie-up on domestic routes to our passengers, but also signifies a deepening of relations between China and Japan," said ANA President and CEO Yoji Ohashi. "It underlines our commitment to the dynamic and growing China market, and goes a step further in bringing our peoples and businesses together."
"ANA is one of the famous international airlines which established a business relationship with
Shanghai Airlines from an early stage. We have been cooperating with ANA since 2002 in many fields," said SAL President Mr. Fan Hongxi. "I sincerely hope the relationship between SAL and ANA can be a model of cooperation between a Chinese carrier and a Japanese carrier which seek development together."
The domestic code-share in China comes as a natural progression from the connection service to
Shenzhen and
GuangZhou that ANA and
Shanghai Airlines have been operating at Shanghai's Pudong Airport since October 2003. Complete with a dedicated desk and staff, it is designed to ensure smooth international to domestic transfers, and will continue for flights that are not covered by the new code-share agreement. In addition to Shenzen and Guangzhou, the city of
Xiangfan also is included in the connection service.
