Kenya Airways said Thursday it had signed a codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines to help improve connectivity and access in Asia.

The agreement on the Bangkok-Hong Kong route will see Hong Kong Airlines load Kenya Airways flight code on the Asian carriers' seven daily flights.

"This will allow Kenya Airways have a daily product between these two key business cities," Kenya Airways Group CEO Mbuvi Ngunze said in a statement on Thursday.

Code-sharing allows airlines to sell seats on their aircraft, marketing carrier, as if they were their own. The passengers are later transferred onto the partnering airline, the operating carrier.

The Kenyan carrier currently flies three times a week to Hong Kong but the new agreement with its Asian partner increases this to a daily flight.

Ngunze said the deal will also enable Hong Kong Airlines passengers to book a through ticket to Nairobi, and the rest of Kenya Airways destinations, especially in Africa.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2017)