According to some new announcements, Air Canada has stated that it has entered into talks to explore a closer cooperation with Korea’s Asiana Airlines that would result in some enhanced services on Canadian and Korean routes. A Memorandum of Understanding to build a strategic partnership was signed by the two Star Alliance partners just recently. This all comes just after an Open Skies agreement was signed by Canada and Korea in 2009, which further liberalized air transportation services between the two countries.

Air Canada President and Chief Executive Officer, Calin Rovinescu, said that they look forward to working with their Star Alliance partner Asiana Airlines to build on their existing code share agreement and provide their customers on both sides of the Pacific with more choices and more services. This little speech came after a signing ceremony that happened this week with the Asiana Airlines’ President and Chief Executive Young Doo Yoon.

This strategic partnership between Air Canada and Asiana Airlines is, of course, subject to the approval of the competition authorities in Canada and Korea. This partnership and code sharing agreement could open up big things for both airlines. Air Canada operates daily year round nonstop services between Vancouver and Seoul.

Air Canada also provides scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 167 destinations on five continents. Canada’s flag carrier is the 13^th largest commercial airline in the world and serves 31 million customers annually. The carrier is also a founding member of Star Alliance and provides the world’s most comprehensive air transportation network for Canadian domestic, trans-border, and international travel.