Emirates unveils Air Canada codeshare + cabin refresh and refit

By James Harrison

Emirates has announced the launch of its codeshare cooperation with Air Canada and began its two-year retrofit programme with work starting on the first of 120 aircraft.

The new partnership will allow customers of the carriers to connect to 46 markets spanning three continents, including to destinations across the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent.

Codeshare tickets will be available for sale to 35 markets for travel effective December 1 with 11 additional markets to be added pending final regulatory approval, and the potential for more markets to be included beyond that. Tickets are available via the carriers’ websites at emirates.com and aircanada.com as well as via major GDS systems and travel agencies.

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airlines said: “We are delighted to establish a partnership with Air Canada, to expand our reach into more points in North America.

“Partnering with Canada’s flag carrier enables us to offer customers seamless connectivity when flying to domestic points within Canada via Toronto.

“Besides the added-value benefits and rewarding experiences that leisure and business travellers of both airlines can look forward to, the partnership allows Air Canada’s customers to travel to destinations across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, thanks to our expansive network via our hub in Dubai.”

Emirates customers will be able to book codeshare flights to and from Canadian points beyond Toronto, including Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa and Vancouver.

Air Canada will place its code on routes operated by Emirates from its hub in Dubai, expanding the airline’s reach across the Indian subcontinent and unlocking more destinations, including Colombo, Dhaka, Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore.

Coming soon, the airlines will introduce a reciprocal frequent flyer offering, allowing members of Aeroplan and Skywards to earn and redeem points on flights operated by Emirates and Air Canada, respectively. Eligible passengers will also soon be able to take advantage of reciprocal lounge access, along with select benefits for Aeroplan Elite and Skywards members when travelling on the partner airline.

Cabin Refresh & Refit

This two-year retrofit programme represents a multi-billion dollar investment for Emirates.

After completing flight EK928 from Cairo to Dubai on Monday, A6-EVM was steered to Hanger E at the Emirates Engineering Centre where a team of specialised engineers began prepping the aircraft for its makeover.

In addition to recruiting 190 additional staff for the project, Emirates is also engaged with 62 partners and suppliers who have hired hundreds more skilled hands for the biggest-known aircraft retrofit programme in modern commercial aviation.

After months of planning, and months of test runs on an A380 aircraft, engineers took stock and requested 2,200 part numbers. In turn, Emirates’ procurement team went into overdrive and raised 12,600 purchase orders for the initial phase of the programme.

At the Emirates Engineering Centre, purpose-built workshops have been set up and stocked with parts and equipment for the project.

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