Asiana Airlines, the smaller of South Korea's two flag carriers, said on December 28 that it has agreed with Air China Co. to expand their code-sharing agreement to cover all Korea-China routes starting early next year.

Under the accord signed on December 27, the two airlines will expand code-sharing for flights on 11 routes from the current two starting in February and enhance their strategic alliance in sales, operations and personnel exchanges, Asiana said.

Code sharing, a commercial agreement between two airlines, allows one company to put its identification code on another airline's flights in computerized reservations systems in a bid to boost revenue by effectively enlarging their flight and destination networks.

The new agreement allows the two airlines to provide code-sharing services on the Seoul-Beijing route for the first time among South Korean and Chinese airlines, Asiana said.

It will also enable Asiana Airlines to offer flight services to major Chinese cities such as Tianjin, Weihai and Chengdu.

The two airlines have operated code-shared passenger flights on two routes between South Korea and China -- Busan-Beijing and Incheon-Hangzhou -- since March 2003, Asiana said.

In early December, Asiana agreed with All Nippon Airways Co. to expand their code-sharing agreement to cover all Korea-Japan routes starting in February next year.