Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines have extended their codeshare partnership to five more routes between Malaysia and China, taking effect on Oct 25, the carriers said in a press release.

Under a codeshare agreement, each airline puts its own flight code on eligible flights operated by its partner, so passengers can book and connect across both networks.

The new routes link Kuala Lumpur with Shenzhen, Changsha, Xiamen, Chengdu and Zhengzhou, the airlines said. Shenzhen is in China's southern Guangdong province, Changsha in Hunan, Xiamen on the southeastern coast in Fujian, Chengdu in Sichuan in the southwest, and Zhengzhou in Henan in central China.

With this expansion, the two carriers now codeshare on all Kuala Lumpur routes between Malaysia and China. These are the routes to Guangzhou, Beijing Daxing, Shanghai Pudong, Shenzhen, Changsha, Xiamen, Chengdu Tianfu and Zhengzhou.

The partnership began in July 2023 on the Kuala Lumpur-Guangzhou route. In July 2024, it was extended to Kuala Lumpur-Beijing Daxing, Kuala Lumpur-Shanghai Pudong and Penang-Guangzhou, the airlines said.

The airlines linked the latest expansion to their recent capacity moves in the market. Malaysia Airlines launched new services from Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu, Shenzhen and Changsha this year, while China Southern has continued to add capacity on its Kuala Lumpur-Guangzhou and Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen routes.

Captain Nasaruddin A. Bakar, president and group chief executive of Malaysia Aviation Group, the parent of Malaysia Airlines, said China "remains a key strategic market" for the airline. He said the arrangement complements the airline's network and gives customers wider access to key destinations in China. He added that the airline hopes to explore further ways to deepen cooperation and support tourism, trade and business ties between the two countries.

Han Wensheng, president of China Southern Air Holding Company Limited, said his airline sees strong growth potential in the Malaysian market. He said the two carriers would use their respective strengths to increase flight frequencies and take advantage of the mutual visa-free policies between the two countries. Han also said the cooperation would support the Belt and Road Initiative, China's overseas infrastructure and trade programme, and would offer passengers more travel options.

Source: PR