Etihad Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Qantas and has unveiled plans for a closer commercial cooperation between the two airlines.
The deal will see the Abu Dhabi-based airline place its two-letter ‘EY’ code on selected Qantas domestic services which operate beyond Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – the three gateway airports currently served by Etihad.
In addition, Etihad will place its code on daily Qantas flights from Melbourne to Auckland in New Zealand.
The initial codeshare agreement comes into effect on March 29 and is likely to be extended to other routes in the future.
In turn, Qantas will place its own ‘QF’ code on all services operated by Etihad between Australia and Abu Dhabi and a selection of Etihad services connecting the UAE capital to the Middle Eastern destinations of Amman (in Jordan), Bahrain and Beirut (in Lebanon).
By Bev Fearis
