Royal Jordanian, Middle East Airlines enter new free sale codeshare agreement

Royal Jordanian and Middle East Airlines-Air Liban concluded a new free sale codeshare agreement that will be implemented as of the middle of this month.

Under the terms of the agreement, RJ will place its marketing carrier code on ME-operated flights between Amman and Beirut as the marketing carrier. ME will place its marketing carrier code on RJ-operated flights between Amman and Beirut as the marketing carrier.

Starting with September 22, RJ passengers can choose among three more daily flights between Amman and Beirut operated by Middle East Airlines, in addition to the existing RJ daily flights to Beirut. MEA passengers can also add to their choice the two code share RJ flights.

RJ Chairman of the Board & President/CEO Nasser Lozi, who signed the agreement with Chairman and Director General of Middle East Airlines Mohamad El-Hout in Beirut today, expressed satisfaction with this commercial partnership with the Middle East Airlines, saying that it is bound to meet customer satisfaction due to the varied travel schedules and choices offered.

He said that as of October 25, 2014, RJ will cancel two of the four daily flights between to Beirut, as part of RJ’s plan to restructure its route network.

Recently, RJ took the decision to stop operations to Colombo, Milan, Accra, Alexandria, Mumbai, Delhi and Lagos.

Lozi also said that for security reasons, it suspended operations to a number of destinations: Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Mosul. These join Damascus and Aleppo, which have been suspended for two years.

Lozi pointed out that RJ had to change the Amman-Beirut route to avoid flying over Syrian airspace, and that adds to the costs of operation on this route.

The flight from Amman to Beirut now goes toward south Jordan, then into Egyptian airspace and over the Mediterranean Sea before landing in Beirut. As a result, the duration of the flight between Amman and Beirut increased from one hour to one hour and 45 minutes, either way.

Mohamad El-Hout said: “This codeshare emanates from the deep and brotherly relationship between the Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Lebanon, as well as between Middle East Airlines and Royal Jordanian, whereby the two airlines, although members of different alliances, complement each other to develop further the existing cultural, business and tourist ties between the two countries.”

He added that this codeshare agreement offers ME and RJ passengers the best choices and ease of travel not only between Beirut and Amman, but also to other destinations operated by the two carriers beyond the two capitals.

El-Hout concluded that the Middle East and RJ are among the leading carriers in the Arab world. ME was established in 1945, and RJ in 1963. They have been operating scheduled flights between the two countries since their beginnings; ME has been serving Amman since 1950 and Beirut was RJ’s first destination.