Qatar Airways and American Airlines sign strategic partnership deal and codeshare agreement

Qatar Airways has signed a significant codeshare agreement with American Airlines in a move that will increase commercial cooperation, bolster connectivity and create hundreds of new travel options for millions of customers. The new agreement will establish a partnership at a global level between two of the world’s most connected airlines, linking some of the largest airport hubs in the US to Hamad International Airport in Doha, voted the Middle East’s best hub and holder of a place in the world’s top five airports for the last three years.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker said: “We are very pleased to secure this strategic partnership with American Airlines – an agreement between two successful and ambitious airlines with a shared common purpose to enhance the customer experience. The deal will bring together two of the world’s largest airline networks, increasing choices for millions of passengers and providing seamless connectivity to a significant number of new destinations, in line with Qatar Airways’ successful growth strategy.

“We have moved on from past issues and look forward to working closely with American Airlines to build a world-leading partnership for all our customers. This agreement will harness our complementary strengths and resources and enable more customers to experience Qatar Airways’ award-winning product quality.”

“Our goal is to continue to expand and deepen global partnerships to complement American’s network and create more choice for our customers,” said American’s Chairman and CEO Doug Parker. “The issues that led to the suspension of our partnership two years ago have been addressed and we believe resuming our codeshare agreement will allow us to provide service to markets that our customers, team members and shareholders value, including new growth opportunities for American Airlines. We look forward to the renewed cooperation between our airlines and hope to build an even stronger relationship with Qatar Airways over time.”

The codeshare agreement with American Airlines (AA) will allow Qatar Airways’ passengers to travel on AA domestic flights departing Boston (BOS), Dallas (DFW), Chicago (ORD), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), New York (JFK) and Philadelphia (PHL), and as well as on AA international flights to and from Europe, the Carribean, Central and South America.*

American Airlines passengers will be able to book travel on all Qatar Airways flights between the U.S and Qatar and beyond to a range of destinations in the Middle-East, East Africa, South Asia, the Indian Ocean and South East Asia.*

Following the reactivation of the codeshare, both airlines will also explore the opportunity for American Airlines to operate flights between the USA and Qatar, along with a number of joint commercial and operational initiatives to further strengthen this renewed partnership.

Qatar Airways currently operates a modern fleet of more than 250 aircraft via its hub, Hamad International Airport (HIA), to more than 170 destinations worldwide. The world’s fastest-growing airline will add Osaka, Japan; Santorini, Greece; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Almaty and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan; Accra, Ghana; Cebu, Philippines; Lyon, France; Trabzon, Turkey; Siem Reap, Cambodia and Luanda, Angola to its extensive network in 2020.

A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was named ‘World’s Best Airline’ by the 2019 World Airline Awards, managed by the international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named ‘Best Airline in the Middle East’, ‘World’s Best Business Class’, and ‘Best Business Class Seat’, in recognition of its ground-breaking Business Class experience, Qsuite. It is the only airline to have been awarded the coveted “Skytrax Airline of the Year” title, which is recognised as the pinnacle of excellence in the airline industry, five times.

American Airlines offers customers 6,800 daily flights to more than 365 destinations in 61 countries from its hubs in Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. With a shared purpose of caring for people on life’s journey, American’s 130,000 global team members serve more than 200 million customers annually. Since 2013, American has invested more than $28 billion in its product and people and now flies the youngest fleet among U.S. network carriers, equipped with industry-leading high-speed Wi-Fi, lie-flat seats, and more inflight entertainment and access to power. American also has enhanced food and beverage options in the air and on the ground in its world-class Admirals Club and Flagship lounges. American was recently named a Five Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association and Airline of the Year by Air Transport World. American is a founding member of oneworld®, whose members serve 1,100 destinations in 180 countries and territories.

*Subject to regulatory approval.