British Airways and Qatar Airways Form Industry’s Largest Joint Venture

British Airways and Qatar Airways have completed the final elements of their joint venture agreement, which makes it the largest joint venture between 2 airlines in the world.

The agreement allows the airlines to coordinate with each other on pricing and scheduling, which will offer more opportunities for customers to connect on flights worldwide.

Move Further Together

The joint venture agreement between British Airways and Qatar Airways is called “Move Further Together,” symbolizing the synergies between the 2 airlines and the connectivity that is offered. Customers will be able to travel on flights to Italy, the Maldives, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and many other countries with a coordinated scheduling and pricing model.

Customers can travel on nonstop flights, depending on the location, or transit through mega hubs in Doha (DOH) or London (LHR). Through the partnership, the airlines will serve 185 cities in more than 60 countries.

The 2 airlines will offer itineraries on a single ticket. So, for example, you can fly from London to Doha on British Airways, and then from Doha to the Maldives on Qatar, without having to worry about booking separate tickets, re-checking bags, etc.

Avios and Lounge Access

The partnership between the 2 airlines will also allow members of British Airways Executive Club and Qatar Airways Privilege Club to freely transfer Avios, the common currency, between the 2 frequent flyer programs.

If you’ve accumulated some Avios with British Airways and some Avios with Qatar Airways, it will now be possible to freely transfer those points into a single currency, either with British Airways or Qatar.

This might be especially useful for customers who have credit card points that can transfer into British Airways Avios. Because of the partnership, you can then transfer those to Qatar to redeem for awards or items that may not necessarily be available directly with British Airways.

While not necessarily unique to the partnership, customers will have access to airport lounges from both BA and Qatar, depending on the cabin they’re flying in. This is the current Oneworld policy, so if you’re flying in business class on one member airline, you have access to the business class lounge of any other member airline.

Hot Tip: Read about all the best ways to earn and redeem British Airways Avios points! 

Final Thoughts

The tie-up between British Airways and Qatar Airways will create a more seamless travel experience for customers and will allow travelers to fly to more destinations on a single ticket. Between increased connectivity and joint pricing, the new “alliance within an alliance” will benefit customers globally.