News Roundup: Partnerships take centre stage with Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways expanding code share agreement and Accor teaming up with Grab for additional benefits to loyalty members; highlighted too is Travelport reporting positive results from its Travel Unified campaign
Aviation: Malaysia Airlines expands codeshare with Qatar Airways, suspends Boeing 737 MAX delivery
Despite renewed speculation about its fate with report of four shortlisted suitors waiting to buy a stake (AirAsia Group, Japan Airlines, Air France-KLM, Malindo Air) ailing Malaysia Airlines remains unfazed – forging ahead with forming new business ties to expand its global reach.
The carrier’s latest cooperation is with Qatar Airways. The two airlines, both members of the oneworld alliance, have agreed to expand their codeshare agreement that will take effect from 27 January. They started working together via codesharing in 2001, which was extended in 2018.
Under the new expanded deal, Qatar Airways passengers are able to book Malaysia Airlines flights to two additional destinations Malaysian destinations – Sibu in Sarawak and Alor Setar in Kedah as well as two in Indonesia (Medan and Surabaya).
In turn, Malaysia Airlines passengers can book travel to an additional 12 destinations with one-stop connectivity such as Frankfurt, Munich, Zurich, Vienna, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, Geneva, Copenhagen, Brussels, Athens and Oslo. The Malaysian carrier already offers fares to Doha, Qatar via an existing codeshare agreement with Qatar Airways.
Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker described the expansion of the codeshare as a “natural next step” in strengthening the partnership. “Since 2001, both airlines have witnessed the significant benefits codeshare cooperation have brought, providing passengers with unrivalled service and seamless connections.”
Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail said the cooperation would provide more travel options for Malaysian outbound travellers while flying in more visitors to Malaysia. “We look forward to sharing our Malaysian Hospitality further and provide a truly Malaysian experience for our passengers”
Meanwhile, the Malaysian carrier has suspended takinga delivery of its orders of 25 Boeing 737 MAX plans, as there is no clarification as to when the aircraft’s return to service since it was grounded last year following two fatal crashes.
According to a Malaysia Airlines spokesperson, the carrier would not be taking delivery of the first 737 MAX scheduled in July 2020. The airline had a firm order of 25 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft with another 25 purchase rights in a deal valued at US$5.5 billion.
Note: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was reported as saying that five proposals had been received to invest in Malaysia Airlines, adding that some of them were “just no go”. (What Air France-KLM and Japan Airlines proposed).
• Update (23 January): Air France-KLM has clarified it is not involved in Malaysia Airlines’ latest efforts to look for investors despite being involved in earlier talks. The Paris-based group told Reuters it was previously in contact with the Malaysian carrier’s shareholders “but at this stage, Air France-KLM is not a current party to the sales process of Malaysia Airlines.”
Partnership: Accor rides with Grab to deliver more benefits to loyalty members
Accor has formed a strategic partnership between its new lifestyle loyalty programme ALL – Accor Live Limitless and South-east Asia’s leading super app Grab.
“The deal brings together two of the biggest names in hospitality and technology to give members access to rewards and benefits including the ability to transfer points across programmes and make travel more seamless,” said the French hospitality group in a statement announcing the tie-up.
Under the partnership, GrabRewards members can use their points to access experiences through Accor’s 39 brands, and ALL members can redeem their points for GrabRewards partner benefits.
“GrabRewards is the perfect partner for ALL especially in South-east Asia where both companies have a strong and fast-growing presence,” said Michael Issenberg, chairman & CEO Accor Asia Pacific
He added the deal enables Grab’s 32 million users to utilise their rewards points at Accor hotels and resorts, restaurants and bars and to access a wide range of lifestyle experiences including concerts, food festivals, sporting events and exclusive “money can’t buy” events designed by ALL.
“At the same time we know our ALL members are big users of GrabRewards and they will be able to seamlessly order cars when they travel, arrange deliveries and process payments via the GrabRewards app.”
To enjoy the benefits from this new partnership members of both ALL and GrabRewards need to link their programmes, while non-members of either programme can join on all.accor.com or grab.com.
ALL currently has 62 million loyalty members globally including over 19.4 million in Asia Pacific.
Aviation: Asia sees sharp rise in assistance requests for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities
Requests for assistance for airline passengers with intellectual disabilities have seen a nearly eight-fold increase in Asia, following a 10-month long campaign to raise awareness of a dedicated Special Service Request (SSR) booking code by Travelport.
Little-known SSR code, DPNA, can be used to alert airlines when a traveller has an intellectual or developmental disability and needs assistance. The codes are delivered through standardised four-letter codes defined by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Travel agents, among other travel service providers, can use the DPNA SSR code to alert airlines when a passenger has need of such assistance.
Travelport launched its Travel Unified campaign last March after it found evidence of exceptionally low use of the code on bookings made through its global distribution system (GDS).
Of the more than 250 million flight bookings made through Travelport in 2018 the DPNA code was applied to just 4,309 bookings – approximately 0.0015% despite an estimated 2.6% of the world’s population having an intellectual disability. This was due to a lack of awareness, according to the travel technology company .
To raise awareness of the DPNA SSR code Travelport has shared ‘sign-on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ more than 10 million times with travel agents worldwide through Smartpoint, its flagship Point of Sale solution where service providers search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more.
The campaign resulted in an increase of 762% in the use of the DPNA SSR code on flights booked through Travelport as at the end of last year compared to the same period in 2018. Locations like India and Hong Kong saw exceptionally large spikes of 458% and 243% respectively.
In addition, the code was used for the first time through Travelport in Israel, Kuwait, Mongolia, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates.
“SSR codes play an important role in helping travel agents effectively and officially communicate the needs of travellers to IATA airlines, so it’s important agents are aware of the codes at their disposal and the kind of support that can be requested,” commented Mark Meehan, Travelport’s global vice president and managing director of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Operators.
• Featured image credit: Malaysia Airlines
