Turkish Airlines, EVA Air sign code-sharing agreement

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

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Taiwan’s EVA air has reached a code-sharing agreement with Turkish Airlines for flights between Taipei and Istanbul, Turkish Airlines said in statement on June 4.

A code-sharing agreement is when two or more airlines agree to list certain flights in a reservation system under each other’s names.

Turkish Airlines and EVA Air agreed to begin code sharing starting from June 3. “Next year, EVA will also launch service on the route, and the code sharing will be applied as reciprocal by Turkish Airlines placing its code on EVA operated flights. After this stage, the code-share agreement will allow passengers to benefit from a higher number of combined frequencies for better connectivity and increased travel flexibility between two countries,” the statement said.

When EVA starts daily Taipei-Istanbul flights in 2016, the two airlines will collaborate further. Together, they will efficiently use Istanbul as a hub for travel to destinations that are even more distant.

“With the code-share flights and commercial agreements for beyond Istanbul, EVA will offer passengers more convenient choices to Europe,” it said.

“EVA and Turkish Airlines will work in cooperation to increase tourism and cultural exploration in Taipei and Istanbul and to promote business travel between the two regions. The route is especially attractive to leisure and business travelers from Taipei and Asia because it takes no more than two-three hours to make smooth onward flight connections to the major cities in Europe, including Frankfurt, Barcelona, Lisbon, Copenhagen and Stockholm, et cetera. The two airlines are also entering a Special Prorate Agreement (SPA) that will enable passengers who book connecting flights to travel with one ticket and check baggage all the way through to their destination,” the statement said.

“With new Taipei-Istanbul-Taipei flights, the companies aim to create attractive options for passengers bound for Frankfurt, Barcelona, Lisbon, Copenhagen and Stockholm thanks to the connecting flights with maximum delays [of two-three hours].”

Turkish Airlines links 226 international destinations, and more than 100 of them are in Europe. As the only city in the world having on two continents, Istanbul serves as a main hub which connects the east and the west.