Air France and Madagascar Airlines sign a commercial cooperation agreement to improve air services between between France and Madagascar

At the same time as the IFTM Top Resa trade fair, Air France and Madagascar Airlines today signed a commercial cooperation agreement aimed at improving air services between France and Madagascar.

An interline marketing agreement

From 1 October 2024, Air France and Air Madagascar are introducing an interline marketing agreement, so that customers can combine flights operated by both airlines on a single ticket: Air France between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Antananarivo-Ivato, and Madagascar Airlines between Antananarivo and its main domestic destinations such as Nosy Be, Fort Dauphin, Majunga and Tamatave.

Coordinated flight schedules

Within the framework of this agreement, connecting passengers will be able to check in their baggage to their final destination, without having to recheck it in Antananarivo.

To offer customers faster and smoother connections, the two airlines will coordinate their flight schedules at Antananarivo-Ivato. Air France's long-haul flights will be synchronised with Madagascar Airlines' domestic flights, reducing the overall journey time.

As well as these changes, Madagascar Airlines and Air France are looking into the possibility of an agreement enabling Madagascar Airlines to use its code on Air France flights between Antananarivo and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. This agreement would broaden the options for Madagascar Airlines passengers, with opportunities for connections to destinations beyond the Air France hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle.

“This partnership with Air France marks a major step in the implementation of the Phénix 2030 Plan launched by the company's Executive Management at the beginning of 2024,’ said Thierry de Bailleul, CEO of Madagascar Airlines. ‘Never before have services to Madagascar's domestic destinations offered such a high quality of connections with long-haul flights. There is no doubt that this will be a decisive factor in helping French and European tourists to discover the Big Island, with its many tourist sites served by Madagascar Airlines, each with its own exceptional natural and cultural treasures, some of which are unique and still relatively undiscovered. Madagascar Airlines would like to thank the government for its ongoing support and efforts to develop national tourism, and we are proud to be working alongside them to achieve our target of 1 million tourists by 2028.”

“We are delighted to have signed this agreement with Madagascar Airlines,’ said Anne Rigail, CEO of Air France. ‘This commercial cooperation opens up new destinations to our customers, and the coordination of our respective flight schedules will considerably enhance their travel experience. With this agreement, we are maintaining the strong and historic links between our two countries and contributing to the development of cultural and economic relations.”