Malaysia Airlines, Jet Airways to code share

The Associated Press

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysia Airlines and India's Jet Airways sealed a code sharing pact Tuesday to boost travel and increase revenue as they battle a global industry downturn.
Malaysia Airlines Managing Director Idris Jala warned of a "very tough" year as the world economic slump depresses the airline industry and raises the need for carriers to work together.

Under the agreement, the two airlines will be able to book passengers on one another's planes between Kuala Lumpur and Chennai from March 3, he said. Jet Airways will also place its flight code on Malaysia Airlines flights operating between Kuala Lumpur and four other Indian cities — Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, he said.

Code-sharing is considered a low-risk way for airlines to expand their networks without the added cost of more planes and employees.

"This will allow us to capture untapped traffic from secondary points in India through the five Indian gateways onto Malaysia Airline's network," Idris said at a ceremony to mark the agreement.