Alaska Airlines said its partnership with Emirates will come to an end on July 31, with eyes on a new deal with Qatar Airways.

With Alaska Airlines recently entering into the Oneworld airline alliance, the carrier has announced the end of its deal with Emirates airlines, favouring Qatar Airways as its new Middle Eastern partner.

On its website, Alaska Airlines announced its partnership with Emirates will end on July 31 and expressed that it prefers instead to route its passengers on Qatar Airways with mileage earnings and redemptions.

Emirates airlines, remains non-aligned, is in direct competition with Oneworld member, Qatar Airways.

An update on Alaka Airlines website reflected the move, highlighting that passengers can instead “fly Qatar Airways in unparalleled comfort with their revolutionary Qsuite, the most private Business Class in the sky.”

Read also: Qatar Airways escalates ‘mystery spat’ with Airbus

Award-winning Qatar Airways has been among a few airliners that have managed to soar to new heights despite the crippling Covid-19 pandemic.

The airline is expecting to fly to more than 140 destinations by mid-summer. Recently, it added some new routes to its list, including Seattle, where Alaska Airlines is based and the carrier’s largest hub, and San Francisco.

However, with a near global halt to travel, the ongoing pandemic has impacted the carrier on a financial level, receiving some $3 billion in support from the Qatari government to weather the turbulence.

This year, the carrier is set to receive planes from Airbus and Boeing Co., Al Baker said, noting Qatar Airways will be the launch client for Boeing’s highly anticipated 777x in 2023.

The Qatar-based carrier ordered 60 of the new model, which has been described as the “world’s largest and most efficient twin-engine jet.”