MIAT Mongolian Airlines, the flag carrier of Mongolia, will begin offering flights to the United States (US) together with its codeshare partner, Turkish Airlines.
According to an announcement by the Mongolian airline, passengers will be able to fly on its OM flight code from Ulaanbaatar Chinggis Khaan International Airport (UBN) to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) via Istanbul Airport (IST).
At the largest Turkish city, MIAT Mongolian Airlines passengers will transfer onto a Turkish Airlines flight, continuing their journey to the US.
Ticket sales began on September 6, 2023.
The newly announced codeshare flights were enabled by the Open Skies treaty which was signed by the US and Mongolian governments in August 2023.
At the time, Mongolian Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai said direct flights between the two countries would commence in Q2 2024, adding that it would become a “great opportunity to promote tourism and trade, business and investment”.
With the latest codeshare announcement, MIAT Mongolian Airlines said that the flights to the US via IST will strengthen the market of flights to the US in preparation for the direct connections that are scheduled to start next year.
Also in August 2023, MIAT Mongolian Airlines took delivery of its first-ever Boeing 787 aircraft, which was redelivered from China-based Suparna Airlines.
Now registered as EI-MGL, it entered service on August 12, 2023, with a flight from UBN to Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), South Korea. Since then, the aircraft was either on flight OM137/138 to/from Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Germany, or flight OM161/162 to/from IST.
Another Boeing 787 should join the airline’s fleet soon, with MIAT Mongolian Airlines expecting the aircraft to arrive in Q1 2024.
