Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd, the country's flagship carrier, has entered into a code share deal with China Southern Airlines Co Ltd, a first between the two airline firms.

Expected to be available for booking and travel from early 2014, Qantas travelers will be able to fly to Guangzhou and four other destinations via China Southern services from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Meanwhile, China Southern customers will be able to book on 10 different Qantas routes within Australia, and to New Zealand as well.

"This is great news for the increasing number of Qantas customers travelling to China for business and leisure, because it simplifies their journey and opens up new destinations," Alan Joyce, Qantas' Chief Executive Officer, said.

The specifics of the code share arrangement:

China Southern flights available to Qantas passengers

  • Sydney - Guangzhou
  • Melbourne - Guangzhou
  • Brisbane - Guangzhou
  • Perth - Guangzhou
  • Guangzhou - Xiamen
  • Guangzhou - Kunming
  • Guangzhou - Fuzhou

• Guangzhou - Ürümqi

Qantas flights available to China Southern passengers

  • Sydney - Brisbane
  • Sydney - Melbourne
  • Sydney - Cairns
  • Sydney - Canberra
  • Sydney - Gold Coast
  • Sydney - Adelaide
  • Sydney - Auckland
  • Melbourne - Adelaide

"Partnership is key to our strategy in Asia and we're very pleased to now have China Southern as one of our codeshare partners in the world's fastest growing aviation market," Mr Joyce said.

Apart from China Southern, Qantas has codeshare agreements with China Eastern and through oneworld, a relationship with Cathay Pacific.

In addition to the code share deal, the two airlines are also looking into entering cooperation deals in pilot training and the cargo business.