Emirates and Air Mauritius have renewed their longstanding partnership which includes a reciprocal codesharing agreement on select routes beyond the gateways of each partner airline, as well as cooperation on frequent flyer programmes and cargo handling services. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Mauritius, formalising a mutual collaboration agreement which was first established in 2003 following the launch of Emirates’ services to the island nation, and later renewed in 2013 with an enhanced codeshare agreement on expanded routes. Adnan Kazim, Deputy President and Chief Commercial Officer, Emirates said: “Our strategic, long-standing partnership with Air Mauritius continues to provide customers of both airlines with travel benefits such as seamless connections on select routes, ability to conveniently using a single ticket for the entire journey, as well as opportunities to earn and redeem rewards on both frequent flyer programmes.
“Now in its 23rd year, our partnership with the national carrier has allowed us to continuously provide value to the island nation, through our passenger operations, cargo handling capabilities and more, with tangible contributions that have helped build a strong and sustainable tourism economy. We would like to thank the authorities and stakeholders for their unwavering support in making our operations possible. We are proud of the achievements made so far and we look forward to giving back more to this important destination, which we have connected to more than 128 points in our in our global network.”
Kremchand (Kishore) Beegoo, Chairman, Air Mauritius said: “The renewal of our longstanding partnership with Emirates marks an important milestone for Air Mauritius. Emirates is one of our key strategic partners, and this enhanced agreement further deepens the strong relationship between our two airlines.
“It brings concrete benefits through reciprocal codesharing on select routes beyond our respective gateways, as well as cooperation in frequent flyer programmes and cargo services. This reinforced partnership strengthens the complementarity between our airlines, enabling us to better serve our passengers, fulfill our mission: to serve the Mauritian tourism industry, and to offer Mauritians broader access to an extensive global network.”
The strategic cooperation allows Air Mauritius to place its code on Emirates-operated flights to Cairo, Colombo, Karachi, Dammam, Jeddah, and Riyadh while Emirates placing its code on Air Mauritius’ services on the Mauritius – Antananarivo route. Under the partnership, Air Mauritius can sell seats to points on Emirates’ entire network on an interline basis.
In addition, since Emirates commenced operations to Mauritius and partnered with its national carrier, Emirates has consistently added value by promoting Mauritius on the global stage, while supporting and complementing the operations of Air Mauritius.
Emirates launched its scheduled services to Mauritius in 2002 and has carried a total of over 8.8 million passengers and more than 126 thousand tonnes of cargo on flights to and from Mauritius. Its passenger and cargo operations have generated significant economic and social contributions, delivered unmatched connectivity, fostered high-value tourism, and created tangible benefits to the country at large.
The strong partnership has generated a total of USD900 million worth of annual benefits to Mauritius, including USD119 million in direct contribution from Emirates’ 14 weekly passenger flights, USD264 million in tourism receipts as well as USD530 million to the Mauritian economy through tourism-related spending. Uplifting the economy and directly and indirectly providing employment opportunities through its operations, Emirates has supported the creation of 3,600 jobs in the nation.
Emirates currently has commercial cooperation agreements in place with 164 interline, codeshare and intermodal partners expanding its network reach to nearly 1,800 cities.
The airline operates 14 flights per week between Dubai and Mauritius, all operated by the airline’s flagship A380 aircraft. Besides being the only airline offering services on the double-decker aircraft to the island, Emirates is also the only airline providing seats in First Class cabins.