The UAE national airline Etihad Airways has expanded its codeshare agreement with Korean Air, South Korea’s largest airline, to include six new destinations.
 
In the second phase of co-operation, Etihad will place its EY code on Korean Air services from Seoul Incheon to Honolulu, Vancouver and Hong Kong. Korean Air will place its KE code on Etihad’s flights from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, Muscat and, subject to government approval, Khartoum.

The new arrangements augment the airlines’ existing codeshare services between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon, said a statement from Etihad.
 
Etihad president and CEO James Hogan said the expanded codeshare with Korean Air would enable both airlines to grow their networks in a mutually beneficial way and broaden their appeal to world travellers.
 
“The three new codeshare destinations enhance Etihad Airways’ business and leisure travel offering to the Asia Pacific and North America. The flights to Honolulu and Vancouver, in particular, will provide convenient one-stop access from Abu Dhabi to these two popular North American destinations.
 
“This is a natural development of the codeshare agreement with Korean Air which we signed in July this year, and we look forward to broadening the scope of cooperation even further in the future,” he stated.
 
Hogan said Etihad’s strategy of partnerships with airlines such as Korean Air was helping grow tourism from around the world to its Abu Dhabi home and hub.
 
"The introduction of new codeshare routes enables us to rapidly expand our network and drive more leisure and business traffic to and through our Abu Dhabi hub. Last year alone, Etihad had carried 10.2 million passengers through Abu Dhabi," he added.
 
“Increasing international visitors to Abu Dhabi is key to enabling economic growth in the Emirate and helping realise the Government’s visionary Abu Dhabi 2030 plan.
 
“We forecast this trend will continue with the opening of new routes from Asia and North America.”
 
Etihad Airways and Korean Air have had a successful commercial partnership since August 2009 when the airlines signed a special pro rata agreement and interline partnership. The airlines commenced codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon on July 22.

Members of Etihad Guest and Korean Air’s Skypass loyalty programs enjoy reciprocal benefits, said the statement from the UAE carrier.

These include lounge access, priority check-in and excess baggage allowances for top tier program members and the ability to earn and burn frequent flyer points on Etihad Airways and Korean Air flights, it added.-TradeArabia News Service