Etihad Airways and Fiji Airways have signed an agreement that will cement ties between the two carriers in the future.
The interline agreement will allow each airline to sell seats for the other to facilitate easier travel and booking connections for passengers.
Besides, it will allow the sale from and to 12 cities in Europe, 17 in the Middle East, five each in Africa and North America, 29 in Asia and three in Australia – to and from Fiji – Etihad said in a statement.
“[This is] not a fully fledged codeshare – although it’s clear from the ongoing discussions that the two carriers will work towards that goal,” said said Saj Ahmad, the chief analyst at StrategicAero Research.
“If and when Etihad and Fiji Airways finalise their codeshare deal, this will cement the end-to-end travel process for customers,” he added.
James Hogan, the president and chief executive of Etihad, said: “Fiji is a great holiday market and we are happy to offer Fiji as an additional destination in our global network. The agreement also connects the outer South Pacific Islands to our network which creates more opportunities for our worldwide sales force.”
Etihad on Tuesday reported a 27 per cent increase in first-quarter revenue to US$1.4 billion as contributions from its equity partners rose 23 per cent. The airline said that codeshare and equity partners contributed $223 million compared with $182m in the same quarter last year. However, Etihad’s partners now account for 15.9 per cent of the airline’s total revenues compared with 16.5 per cent last year.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
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