British Airways, Airways Launch Joint Flights to

British Airways will add its BA code to Qatar Airways flights to Australia from late October, offering an easier way for its rusted-on travellers to make the long journey 'down under' – especially in lieu of BA's own -- Sydney route, which was suspended in April 2020 and may not return until sometime in 2021.

Beginning October 25, Qatar Airways' flights from London to and then onwards to Australia will carry a BA code alongside their native QR number.

For example, Qatar Airways' 8am 777 flight QR6 from London can now be booked through British Airways as BA7006; the mid-afternoon QR7 becomes BA7004, and so on. Once passengers reach Doha they can change onto a similarly BA-coded Qatar Airways flight to Sydney, , Adelaide or – although that's where the BA codeshares become more cryptic, such as QR906 to Sydney being badged as BA6389.

Brisbane is noticeably absent from BA's codeshare roster, as Qatar Airways' current schedule only includes the Queensland capital as far as October 23 – although the airline is hopeful that it can continue to offer Doha-Brisbane flights beyond that date, potentially including its new Brisbane-Auckland leg.

British Airways and Qatar Airways were earlier this year granted approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to launch a five-year joint business agreement to partner on flights between the UK, Europe and Australia.

The pact strides well beyond the current "arm’s length codeshare and interline arrangements" relationship of both airlines by allowing BA and Qatar to co- ordinate on schedules, pricing, sales and marketing, capacity, frequent flyer programs and lounge access on selected routes between Australia and the UK/Europe via Doha. The northern hemisphere end of the alliance taps into over 100 destinations predominately in the UK, France, Germany and Spain.

Source: Executive Traveller

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