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Qantas and Cathay Pacific have forged an unlikely codeshare agreement. Qantas will place its “QF” code on 12 Cathay Pacific routes out of Hong Kong, offering Qantas flyers more choices when travelling to Asia. Likewise, Cathay Pacific will place its “CX” code on a range of Qantas domestic flights within Australia.
The new Cathay Pacific codeshare agreement will come into effect from 28 October 2018, with bookings possible from 22 October 2018.
The announcement is good news for Qantas Frequent Flyer members who can now earn more Qantas points and status credits on selected Cathay Pacific routes. Qantas generally punishes its frequent flyers with lower earn rates when flying with Cathay Pacific. In fact, many of Cathay Pacific’s cheaper Economy fares don’t earn any Qantas points at all. But by booking Cathay Pacific flights marketed by Qantas, frequent flyers will earn a full suite of points and status credits as they would if flying on a Qantas aircraft.
It’s also good news for paid-up Qantas Club members who will now be able to use Qantas lounges when booking a QF-coded Cathay Pacific flight. This includes the Qantas Hong Kong Lounge.
On which routes will Qantas and Cathay Pacific codeshare?
Qantas will codeshare on Cathay Pacific’s flights from Perth and Cairns to Hong Kong, as well as several routes between Hong Kong and India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Myanmar.
The airlines will not codeshare on other routes between Australia and Hong Kong where the airlines both compete. Interestingly, there will also be no codeshares on the Adelaide-Hong Kong route despite Qantas not offering flights from Adelaide to Hong Kong (or any other international destinations).
Cathay Pacific will codeshare on 13 Qantas domestic routes.
Here is a full overview of the new codeshare routes. Cathay Pacific routes where Qantas will place its “QF” code are shown in red; Qantas routes to receive “CX” codes are shown in blue:
Qantas and Cathay Pacific: Unlikely friends
Qantas and Cathay Pacific may both be members of the Oneworld alliance, but cooperation between the two airlines hasn’t come naturally in the past. The airlines compete fiercely for Australian passengers travelling to Asia (and Europe). Cathay Pacific also played a key role in blocking the launch of Jetstar Hong Kong, of which Qantas was a major shareholder.
Qantas’ new codeshare arrangement with Air New Zealand – another formal rival – also comes into effect from 28 October 2018.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: New QF/CX codeshare agreement
