MINSK, 19 October (BelTA) – Belavia Belarusian Airlines and Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) have signed a bilateral codeshare agreement for Minsk-Baku flights. The agreement will come into effect on 28 October, BelTA learned from the press service of Belavia.
In line with the agreement, Belavia will be the operating carrier, while Azerbaijan Airlines will be the marketing partner on the Minsk-Baku-Minsk route. Thus, starting from 28 October, flights on this route will be operated by Belavia under its code B2 and under the code of Azerbaijan Airlines - J2.
Since the start of the winter flight schedule Belavia will increase the frequency of flights to Baku to four times a week. Flights from Minsk will be available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 23:15 local time with arrival in Baku on the next day at 03:35 local time. Flights from Baku will be operated on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 04:35 local time with arrival in Minsk at 07:10 local time.
“Belavia is our long-standing and reliable partner. Nonstop flights on the Baku-Minsk route have always been popular with tourists from both countries. I am sure that joint codeshare flights of AZAL and Belavia will lay a solid foundation for mutually beneficial and long-term cooperation,” Director of Azerbaijan Airlines Jamil Manizade said.
The codeshare agreement will significantly enhance the appeal of the Minsk-Baku-Minsk flights for passengers traveling in transit through the airports of Minsk and Baku due to more flight connection opportunities and more marketing instruments to be used by the two airlines to promote their products. The two airlines expect an increase in transit passengers who will use the airports of the two states' capitals.
“We are happy to scale up cooperation with our long-standing partner - Azerbaijan Airlines. We believe that this cooperation will benefit both companies. This agreement will give passengers more traveling options and opportunities, as travelers will be able to use the most convenient connecting flights and buy a ticket at a lower price. Earlier Belavia and AZAL operated Minsk-Baku flights only twice a week, while now four flights a week will be available. Apart from that, the joint flight of AZAL and Belavia will strengthen ties between Belarus and Azerbaijan,” Belavia Director General Anatoly Gusarov said.
The tickets for codeshare flights will be available on the websites of the two partner airlines.
Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) is a major air carrier and one of the leaders of the aviation community of the CIS member states. The company flies to 40 destinations in 25 countries. In 2017 Azerbaijan Airlines carried over 2.2 million passengers. AZAL is headquartered at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku.
Belavia is Belarus' top air carrier. Based in Minsk National Airport, it offers regular flights to 51 destinations in 28 countries in Europe and Asia. The company operates a fleet of 29 aircraft (five Boeing 737-800 jets, six Boeing 737-500 jets, seven Boeing 737-300 jets, three Embraer 175 aircraft, four Embraer 195 aircraft, and four CRJ-100/-200 jets).
