Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has expanded its codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines to provide travellers with enhanced connections between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The UAE airline will commence a daily frequency between Hong Kong, China, and Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the UAE, from today (June 15), offering 3,620 seats per week with an Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Under the expanded codeshare agreement, Hong Kong Airlines will place its ‘HX’ flight code on Etihad Airways’ new flights.

In addition, Hong Kong Airlines will codeshare on Etihad Airways’ new service between Abu Dhabi and Madrid, the capital and largest city in Spain. The route, which was launched in March, is operated four times per week and offers 2,096 seats per week with a two class Airbus A330-200.

Kevin Knight, chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad Airways, said: “Our codeshare agreement with Hong Kong Airlines was initiated last year with a primary focus on enhanced connectivity between Asia and the Middle East. The expanded codeshare will result in further commercial success for both airlines, and more importantly unleash the true benefits of the partnership by offering business and leisure travellers enhanced connections and a more frequent service between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.”

Li Dianchun, commercial director of Hong Kong Airlines, said: “We are glad to strengthen the partnership with Etihad Airways through a codeshare expansion. There is an increasingly strong demand in Asia for travel to the GCC region, Europe, Africa and South America. The enhanced connectivity will enable our passengers to enjoy a wider range of choices while experiencing the world-class services and products offered by both airlines.”

Etihad Airways and Hong Kong Airlines initiated their a codeshare agreement in December 2014, allowing Etihad Airways to place its ‘EY’ code on Hong Kong Airlines’ flights between Hong Kong and Bangkok, and on flights between Hong Kong and Okinawa, while Hong Kong Airlines placed its ‘HX’ code on Etihad Airways’ service between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok.

Etihad Airways plans to increase the frequency of its Bangkok service from three to four flights a day from July 1, with Hong Kong Airlines also codesharing on the additional flight. – TradeArabia News Service