Etihad in codeshare deal with Brazil’s Gol
Abu Dhabi, July 8, 2014
UAE’s national airline Etihad Airways has signed a codeshare deal with Brazil’s Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes to offer travelers greater access to South America.
Subject to regulatory approval, the codeshare agreement will allow Etihad to place its EY code on Gol-operated flights across the Brazilian airline’s domestic network and to other destinations in South America, said a statement.
The deal provides for increased co-operation between the airlines’ frequent flyer programmes, Etihad Guest and Gol’s Smiles programmes, enabling passengers to earn and redeem miles when flying with the partner airline.
The partnership will also enable passengers to check-in their luggage to their final destination.
Kevin Knight, chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad, said: “Brazil is a growing market for Etihad and we are delighted that the partnership with Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes greatly expands our business and leisure travel offering, between the UAE and South America’s largest market.
“Guests can now enjoy easy and convenient connections over São Paulo to 52 destinations throughout Brazil including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Brasilia and further afield to 14 destinations in Latin America including Uruguay and Argentina.
“This new codeshare partnership is a natural development of the interline agreement we signed with Gol in October last year and we look forward to broadening the scope of co-operation even further in the future.”
Etihad launched flights to São Paulo, its first destination in South America, in June last year and has carried more than 86,000 travellers between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo since. - TradeArabia News Service
