Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and China Southern Airlines, Asia’s largest airline, have announced a new codeshare partnership, which comes into effect on 22 June 2017. This increases the number of codeshare agreements operated by the Abu Dhabi-based airline to 53.
Under
the agreement, China Southern Airlines will put its 'CZ' code on Etihad
Airways’ daily services between Beijing (PEK)/Shanghai (PVG)/Chengdu (CTU) and
Abu Dhabi.
The
codeshare partnership will give China Southern guests the opportunity to book
codeshare flights to and from Abu Dhabi, and connect onto Etihad’s network of
over 100 destinations worldwide.
Mohammad
Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways’ Executive Vice President Commercial, said: “The
codeshare partnership with China Southern Airlines is a significant milestone
in the airlines’ network development strategy and a key component of its
footprint in the China market. This is a further example of our
strategy of working with partners to extend our reach, and provide business and
leisure travellers with more options.
“China
is one of the fastest growing travel markets in the world, and one of the most
competitive. By partnering with China Southern Airlines, each airline can use
its strengths to benefit the other and offer more choice with enhanced
connectivity to all guests, while
experiencing the world-class services and products offered by both airlines.
“Recent
developments such as visas upon arrival will help promote the UAE and Abu Dhabi
as unique business and leisure destinations. Furthermore, Etihad Airways’
innovative and award-winning products and service will meet Chinese travellers’
high expectations for greater comfort, superior service standards, more choice
and convenience.”
Mr.
Zhang Lin, China Southern Airlines’ senior management on international
cooperation, welcomed the establishment
of the new partnership with Etihad Airways’ management team. He said: “We are
excited about the new partnership with Etihad Airways, which will further
strengthen the global network of both airlines and provide increased benefits
to all our passengers.”
“Through
this partnership, China Southern Airlines will be able to extend our services globally-
via Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi hub to the Middle East, Africa and Europe.”
Both
Etihad Airways and China Southern Airlines are planning to implement a
reciprocal loyalty partnership in the near future to enable the guests to earn
and redeem miles on each other’s flights network-wide.