Etihad Airways and American Airlines have signed a new agreement which offers their passengers the opportunity to earn frequent flyer miles on flights booked on each other's flights.

Starting June 1, members of Etihad Guest frequent flyer program will be able to earn miles on eligible American Airlines flights. Likewise, members of American Airlines AAdvantage program will be able to earn miles on eligible Etihad Airways flights. The airlines plan to expand this agreement later this year to include mileage redemption across the two airline's networks.

The codeshare agreement between Etihad and American, in place since August 2009, delivers a combined codeshare network of more than 50 destinations worldwide.

'American Airlines has a wide-reaching destination network and a highly loyal customer base, making them an ideal partner for us in expanding our global reach beyond the destinations we serve directly,' said James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive officer.

'We are very pleased to announce our frequent flyer partnership with Etihad, an airline that offers our customers the choice of flying to destinations across the Middle East,' added Virasb Vahidi, American's chief commercial officer.-TradeArabia News Service