Some secrets need to be revealed and British Airways have a big one when it comes to Emirates. The two airlines ostensibly have no affiliation with each other and Emirates is not a member of any of any of the three global alliances. The airlines are standard competitors in the industry and there appear to be no links between the two.
Or is there?
Qantas and Emirates Partnership
In 2013, Emirates and Qantas formed a close partnership together which meant that each airline placed the others code on their flights. This would allow a person to book a ticket from Sydney to Dublin and return with Qantas with the flight from Sydney to Dubai on Qantas and the flight from Dubai to Dublin on Emirates but with the entire trip having a Qantas flight number.
The agreement allows each airline to sell tickets on the others services as though they were their own. Codeshare agreements are quite common in the industry however this one is much more extensive than most.
The Secret Back Door to Earning with Emirates
British Airways and Qantas are both members of the oneworld alliance which allows members of any frequent flyer programme to earn miles with any of the member airlines. Third party airlines are generally excluded from earning even when it is a codeshare flight. The British Airways web site says the following though.
The last line of text indicates any flight carrying a Qantas flight code on any third party airline will earn British Airways Avios as though flying with Qantas. This means that if you book a flight on the Qantas web site that happens to actually be an Emirates aircraft you will earn full Avios and Tier Points as though it was actually Qantas you were flying.
Overall Thoughts
This is not limited to Emirates. Any airline Qantas has a codeshare agreement on will work. This includes airlines such as Fiji Airways, Alaska Airlines and WestJet among others. The caveat is that you must book through Qantas and the flight must be a Qantas codeshare with a QF flight number. Flights on other carriers are marked quite clearly on the Qantas web site making choosing these services quite easy.
For those wedded to their British Airways Executive Club account this provides an interesting way to try another carrier and still earn Avios and Tier Points. I hope you’ve enjoyed the read and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Thanks for the post. This is a very informative post for me.
Glad to hear it, thank you for the kind words.
If I am a BA exec club member flying Emirates on a Qantas codeshare but I’m also a Emirates Skywards member can I opt to collect on my BA program?
Thanks
Of course. Whatever frequent flyer programme number that is in your booking is the one you will collect your miles on for the flight. As long as you’re eligible of course!
These are all good developments for passengers. Hope there are more.
It’s not really an advertised perk, it’s just that the relationship between Qantas and British Airways from a frequent flyer perspective happens to include any airline where Qantas codeshare. That’s fairly unusual, as it will usually be restricted to members of the same alliance.
Ah. Now I understand better. No link between BA and Emirates but can earn BA points flying Emirates through their linkage in common with Qantas? That is truly something!
It is indeed!