Malaysia Airlines and SriLankan Airlines signed an agreement to enhance their longstanding codeshare partnership, signifying a strengthening of the close cooperation between the two Asian carriers. The agreement enables Malaysia Airlines to codeshare on SriLankan’s flights to Male in the Maldives while SriLankan Airlines will access Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Jakarta, and Seoul through Malaysia Airlines.

Malaysia Airlines general manager, government and industry relations, Mr. Germal Singh said: “We are delighted to expand our partnership with SriLankan Airlines. This will provide our customers with easy access to the Maldives, a favorite destination among high-end tourists from Europe and Asia, while enabling us to further enhance our loads to the major cities in North America, Asia, and Australia. Kuala Lumpur’s position as a key gateway for travelers will also be strengthened.”

SriLankan’s head of worldwide sales, Mr. Mohamed Fazeel said: “SriLankan is making a clear effort to strengthen our relationships with award-winning airlines in Asia, which is home to the finest airlines in the world. Both Malaysian and SriLankan have a history of winning global accolades for service, and we have no doubt that this partnership will be of significant mutual benefit to both airlines and most importantly to our respective passengers. The partnership gives SriLankan access to several markets in the Asia-Pacific, notably the US west coast and Australia.”

Members of the frequent-flyer programs of the two airlines, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich and SriLankan FlySmiLes, can also earn and redeem points on flights of either airline. The codeshare is effective beginning June 25, 2009. Tickets for some of the destinations are already available in the market.