A code share pact means that you effectively double the number of places you fly to without increasing your fleet of aircraft. However, it can be a two edged sword as the two players in the code-share need to be nearly equal in terms of passenger service, on time performance and safety.

China Southern Airlines has announced a new code share pact with Malaysia Airline System(MAS).

In making the announcement, China Southern Airlines’ Chairman Liu Shaoyong said, ‘Starting from 27 November 2007, customers of China Southern Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have been enjoying 35 weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. These seamless connections between the two parties air network enable China Southern Airlines’ customers flying into Kuala Lumpur to connect to all domestic points served by Malaysia Airlines.

At the same time, Malaysia Airlines’ customers can travel on China Southern flights to more than 90 destinations in China from Guangzhou and 38 from Beijing.

‘This close cooperation has opened new opportunities in the code-share arrangement between China and Malaysia. We firmly believe that such a strategic partnership will offer travelers more choices and seamless destinations served by the two airlines.’

China Southern Airlines operates a fleet of 330 Airbus and Boeing jet aircraft. In 2007, China Southern Airlines transported nearly 57 million passengers, ranked at ninth position worldwide. There are illustrations of hostesses from both airlines to show it is a fair meeting of equals.
Source: Welt Online

Malaysia’s low-cost carrier, AirAsia X has begun operating flights five days a week between Kuala Lumpur and Hangzhou in east China.

The flight is from Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s low- cost carrier terminal. At the other end, Hangzhou, the capital of east China’s Zhejiang province, is located about two hours from Shanghai by bus.

The New Straits Times reported AirAsia X is offering passengers as low as $60 for a one-way travel between Kuala Lumpur and Hangzhou.

The airline has already sold 10,000 seats, valued at over $1.5 million for travel in February and March possibly because of its extra low price promotion which it is currently running.

The use of secondary airports provided AirAsia X with the impetus to select Hangzhou airport, where it can serve not only the 6 million residents of Hangzhou and 80 million in its Zhejiang province, but also serve as a secondary airport to key cities such as Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan, each with convenient ground transportation links from Hangzhou.

AirAsia X hopes to expand its network to cover destinations which are more than four hours in flight duration from Kuala Lumpur, offering daily point-to-point frequencies to popular destinations in China.
Source: East Day