Etihad, Jet Airways sign agreement

Mumbai, Jun 10 (UNI) Etihad Airways, the National airline of the United Arab Emirates and Jet Airways, India's premier airline, today announced a new code share agreement and network-wide reciprocal frequent flyer partnership, effective July 1, subject to regulatory approval.

With this agreement, Etihad Airways will place its two letter ''EY'' code on all Jet Airways' daily flights between Delhi and Mumbai to Abu Dhabi. In turn, Jet Airways will place its '9W' code on the daily services operated by Etihad Airways on the same route as well as Etihad Airways operated services between Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Abu Dhabi.

The new code-share services will be available for sale effective June 16.

Both airlines have also signed a reciprocal agreement to link their respective frequent flyer programmes. Etihad's Guest programme will be able to earn and redeem miles on Jet Airways' 385 flights to 60 destinations in India and worldwide. Similarly, Jet Airways' JetPrivilege members will be able to earn and redeem miles on Etihad's flights to 45 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

Speaking to reporters, James Hogan, Etihad Airways' Chief Executive, said besides providing air travellers with a greater choice of flights between the UAE capital and these two popular Indian cities, this new code-share agreement will also provide customers of both the airlines with greater access to each other's expanding global networks.

Mr Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said, ''we are proud to join hands with Etihad Airways. The Mumbai/Delhi-Abu Dhabi sectors continue to hold great potential in terms of large passenger volumes. We were looking to enhance our presence on these sectors by means of a code-share alliance with a carrier whose commitment to service and product quality closely mirrors our own. In Etihad, we believe we have found that partner.'' The partnership will deliver several benefits to passengers such as a multiple choice of flights, excellent onward connections, Frequent Flyer benefits, seamless transfer with through check-in and Interline e-ticketing, he added.

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