MONTREAL — Air Canada and Emirates have forged a strategic partnership that will include codesharing by later this year.

Air Canada says the codeshare agreement will offer enhanced consumer travel choices for its passengers to travel to the UAE and to destinations beyond Dubai. By the same token, Emirates passengers can take advantage of codeshare flights when travelling to Toronto or to destinations across the Air Canada network.

“As we continue pursuing our strategy of expanding our global reach in response to growing opportunities in VFR markets that serve Canada’s large multicultural communities, we are very pleased to form a strategic partnership with Emirates, a highly respected flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates with a hub in the vibrant city of Dubai. This strategic agreement will create network synergies, and Air Canada customers will have additional, convenient options when travelling between Canada and the United Arab Emirates as well as destinations beyond Dubai,” says Air Canada’s President and CEO Michael Rousseau.

And Emirates President Sir Tim Clark says: “This is a significant partnership that will enable our customers access to even more destinations in Canada and the Americas, via our Toronto and US gateways. It also opens up many new route combinations for travellers across Emirates’ and Air Canada’s extensive networks in the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. We are pleased to partner with Air Canada, one of North America’s most established airlines and Canada’s flag carrier and we look forward to jointly progressing on various areas to provide even better customer flight choices and experiences.”

Air Canada and Emirates will also establish reciprocal frequent flyer benefits and reciprocal lounge access for qualifying customers. More details about codeshare routes will be announced once finalized.