American Airlines and Qatar Airways are expanding their strategic alliance with a new codeshare agreement, enabling American’s customers to book travel on Qatar Airways flights via Doha to and from 16 new countries.

Pending any necessary government codeshare approvals, travelers will be able to book travel beyond Qatar to their final destinations in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This expanded codeshare comes as American launches new service on June 4 from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Doha’s Hamad International Airport (DOH), recently voted World’s Best Airport. The new service establishes American as the only U.S. carrier to serve the Gulf region, seamlessly connecting through Doha with Qatar Airways.

“Our global partnerships expand upon American’s comprehensive network, providing access to numerous destinations for our customers who are ready to travel around the world,” said American’s CEO Robert Isom. “We’re excited to deepen our strategic alliance with Qatar Airways alongside the launch of our new service between New York and Doha, giving American’s customers more choices and convenient access to the Middle East and beyond.”

The strategic alliance includes Qatar Airways, the leading carrier in the Middle East in terms of frequencies and destinations and the six-time Skytrax ‘World’s Best Airline’ award winner, placing its code on thousands of American’s domestic flights — strengthening connectivity and creating new travel options for customers. American’s network enables connections to over 250 North American cities and Qatar Airways’ extensive network of more than 85 relevant destinations allows customers to access the Middle East, East Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia gateways. The airlines, both alliance members, are paving the way for more interconnected travel within the alliance and globally.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is pleased to extend our codeshare partnership with American Airlines, as yet another step in renewing our long-term strategic partnership with the airline. The expansion of our codeshare agreement is a testament to our joint confidence in the future of aviation, and our shared mission of enhancing the customer experience for millions of passengers worldwide. We are thrilled to build on our relationship with our fellow oneworld partner to provide passengers with the reliable, safe and award-winning service that they have come to know and expect from Qatar Airways.”