Etihad, Saudia enter codeshare partnership

Abu Dhabi - Alliance to cover more than 40 destinations on the two carriers' networks.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi national flag carrier, Saudia, have announced a new codeshare partnership, providing customers with access to more than 40 leisure and business destinations in the home markets and across the world.

In addition to the codeshare agreement, the two carriers also announced plans for greater commercial cooperation in other fields, including frequent flyer programme benefits, cargo, and engineering and maintenance.

The codeshare agreement was signed at Saudia headquarters in Jeddah by Saleh bin Naser Al Jasser, director general, Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Tony Douglas, group CEO, Etihad Aviation Group.

The codeshare agreement will see Etihad Airways place its 'EY' code on Saudia flights to Abha, Al-Baha, Alula, Arar, Bisha, Dammam, Dawadmi, Gassim, Gizan, Gurayat, Hail, Hofuf, Jeddah, Jouf, Madinah, Qaisumah, Rafha, Riyadh, Sharurah, Tabuk, Taif, Turaif, Wadi-Ad-Dawasir, Wedjh, Yanbo, and Abu Dhabi. Port Sudan, Tunis, Alexandria, Sharm el-Sheikh, Multan and Peshawar are subject to government approval.

At the same time, Saudia will place its 'SV' code on Etihad flights to Baku, Chengdu, Ahmedabad, Nagoya, Tokyo-Narita, Dammam, Jeddah, Madinah, Riyadh, Belgrade, Seychelles, Chicago-O'Hare, and Abu Dhabi.

In addition to the codeshare, the teams at the Etihad Guest and Alfursan frequent flyer programmes are finalising discussions which would see members of each programme being offered reciprocal earn and burn opportunities.

In the cargo world, the teams in both airlines' divisions are in talks about greater cooperation, recognising the increased volumes of freighter traffic flowing into and out of the UAE and the Saudi Arabia.