Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwaiti flag carrier Kuwait Airways have signed a codeshare partnership on selected services for travel from January 5, 2020.
Subject to regulatory approvals, Etihad will place its ‘EY’ code on Kuwait Airways-operated flights from Abu Dhabi to Kuwait, Najaf and Dhaka.
In turn, Kuwait Airways will place its ‘KU’ code on Etihad flights from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi, Belgrade, Casablanca, Rabat, Khartoum, Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, Male in the Maldives, and Mahe in the Seychelles.
In a written statement, Tony Douglas, group chief executive officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said that he hopes that the new codeshare would be the first step in a relationship between the two airlines. The agreement will give Etihad access to important markets that it does not currently serve, especially Iraq and Bangladesh, where he says the airline has significant point-to-point and transfer traffic. The new codeshare also complements Etihad’s existing services to cities such as Istanbul, enabling the airline to offer flights to the city’s secondary gateway.
Etihad Airways currently operates five return daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, and Kuwait Airways serves Abu Dhabi with a daily service.
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