(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)In a spectacular flypast at a height of 1,500 feet over Sydney Harbour on Sunday, two A380 superjumbos, one in the livery of the UAE national carrier Emirates, and the other in Qantas colours, marked the start of a "historic alliance" between the world's fastest growing airline and Australia's largest carrier.
The partnership, marking a "seismic shift in global aviation," received approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on March 27.
oth carriers said the game-changing alliance would provide customers with a seamless international and Australian network, frequent flyer benefits and world-class travel experiences.
The flyover was watched from the Sydney Opera House by Tim Clark, president, Emirates Airline and Alan Joyce, chief executive officer of Qantas; along with members of the public who had gathered around the harbour.
In the flight deck of the Emirates A380 were Captain Abbas Shaban, Emirates' Chief Pilot A380, Captain Patrick De Roeck and First Officer Patrick Flynn.
The feat by the two super-jumbos is believed to be the first time anywhere in the world that two commercial airline A380s have flown in formation.
Pilots from both airlines completed dozens of special simulator training sessions, with Emirates pilots travelling to Australia last month to train in Qantas' A380 simulator.
The alliance is seen as vital to the sustainability of Qantas, which last year posted its first annual deficit since privatisation in 1995 due to tougher competition and high fuel costs for its international arm. The tie-up also enables Qantas to shift its planes to serve more profitable Asian routes while reaching more European destinations with a single stop in Dubai.
Later in the day, the first Qantas flights departed from Sydney and Melbourne to London via the international hub of Dubai on Sunday.
Tim Clark said the stitching together of the airlines' services had created a "game-changing partnership" providing "one of the most formidable aviation networks in the world today".
"This is one of the most important days in Qantas' 92 years history. Our partnership with Emirates is probably the biggest partnership deal that Qantas will ever do," said Alan Joyce. "This joint network with Emirates is a key part of tackling the structural challenges that Qantas International is faced with. But more than that ... it is a seismic shift in global aviation."
At a Press conference with Clark, Joyce said the partnership would offer huge benefits to customers in terms of network and frequent flyer benefits, cutting flight times to top European destinations. Qantas announced the Emirates deal in September 2012, ending its 17-year alliance with British Airways.
Qantas said bookings for trips to Europe have gone up six-fold as its first flight in partnership with Emirates Airline took off on Sunday.
Bookings to Europe on the joint network in the first nine weeks of sales have risen six-fold from a year earlier Joyce said in a statement.
"The new network will cut average journey times by more than two hours from Melbourne and Sydney to the top 10 destinations in Europe," said Joyce, who has pledged to return Qantas's international business to profit after the company last year reported its first annual loss since a 1995.
Passengers will be able to fly to 65 international destinations with one stop in Dubai, compared with the previous five one-stop destinations in Europe under Qantas's previous alliance with International Consolidated Airlines Group SA's British Airways unit. Â
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