Last week’s agreement between Malaysia Airlines and SriLankan Airlines to expand their codeshare partnership is expected to raise revenues on this account exponentially from the present USD 5 to 6 million per year, a spokesman for SriLankan Airlines said.

``Overhead costs on this score are minimal and we expect current revenues of between USD 5 to 6 million to grow exponentially,’’ he said.

Currently, SriLankan has codeshare arrangements with Malaysia Airlines, Etihad, British Midland and Saudi Arabia Airlines with the deals with Malaysia and Etihad being the most lucrative.

"An arrangement with Indian Airlines/Air India is also in the pipeline though othing has yet been finalized ," the spokesman said.

Monday’s agreement between Malaysia and SriLankan enhances a longstanding codeshare partnership covering the Kuala Lumpur-Colombo sector effective since 1999.

Under the new agreement, Malaysia will codeshare on SriLankan flights to Male’ while Sri Lankan will access Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, Jakarta and Seoul through Malaysia Airlines.

"These arrangements not only add ancillary revenue to our bottom line but also add to our network," the UL spokesman explained.

He said that since Malaysia Airlines flew to destinations in Australia, the US, Indonesia and South Korea, a travel agent at his computer looking for seats for a customer to these destinations will also see SriLankan on his/her screen.

Malaysia Airlines General Manager for Govt & Industry Relations, Germal Singh Kher said they are delighted to expand our partnership with SriLankan.

``This will provide our customers with easy access to the Maldives, a favourite 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 Lumpurposition as a key gateway for travelers will also be strengthened."

Sri Lankan’s Head of Worldwide Sales, 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 Sri Lankan 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 progrmmes of the two airlines, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich and SriLankan Fly Smiles can also earn and redeem points on flights of either airline. The codeshare is effective from 25th June 2009. Tickets for some of the destinations are already available in the market.