Etihad Airways and Bahrain's Gulf Air signed a codeshare agreement for travel starting in the summer, as the Abu Dhabi airline expands its ties with regional peers.
Etihad will place its code on 12 Gulf Air routes across the Arabian Gulf, North Africa, Europe and Pakistan. Meanwhile, Gulf Air will place its code on 10 Etihad routes in Africa, Australia, Indonesia and the United States, the airlines said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
"The signing today is a great example of how two flag carriers can enhance the experience of our guests by providing a greater choice of destinations and world-leading in-flight service and Arabian hospitality," Tony Douglas, chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, said.
The agreement comes after Etihad said it was open to forge new codeshare agreements worldwide as it seeks sustainable growth, and signed similar pacts with Saudia and Egypt Air. Last week, Mr Douglas said the airline is "on track" with its ongoing turnaround plan, but work remains to be done after the the company narrowed annual losses by 16 per cent to $1.28 billion (Dh4.7bn).
Under the new deal, Etihad will place its code on Gulf Air flights from Bahrain to and from Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Casablanca, Dhaka, Faisalabad, Larnaca, Malaga, Multan, Najaf, Peshawar, Sailkot and Tbilisi.
Gulf Air will place its code on Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to and from Bahrain, Brisbane, Chicago O’Hare, Jakarta, Lagos, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York JFK, Sydney and Washington.
"Customers of both airlines will now have more options to fly to more destinations and explore new cities across our networks," said Kresimir Kucko, chief executive of Gulf Air.
In addition to the codeshare partnership, the airlines are exploring opportunities for co-operation on their Etihad Guest and Gulf Air Falconflyer loyalty programmes.
