Air New Zealand has signed a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, in a bid to bolster its presence in the middle eastern market.
Subject to regulatory approval, Air New Zealand will codeshare on Etihad services between Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Abu Dhabi, as well as between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow. In return, Etihad will codeshare on a number of Air New Zealand trans-Tasman and domestic services. Codeshared flights are expected to be on sale from the end of February, for travel from the end of March.
Air New Zealand chief executive officer Rob Fyfe said in statement that the agreement with Etihad “further extends connectivity options for our customer through to Europe as well as providing opportunities to further grow passenger numbers for our trans-Tasman and domestic services”.
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan in turn noted that codesharing with Air New Zealand opened up “five key destinations in New Zealand that we have been eager to offer to our customers for a long time”, which would “appeal to business and leisure travellers”.
Air New Zealand ‘Airpoints’ and Etihad ‘Etihad Guest’ frequent flyer program members will also be allowed to earn and spend points on each other’s flights.
Air New Zealand codeshare on Etihad as follows:
- 11 return flights per week between Sydney and Abu Dhabi
- 3 return flights per week between Brisbane and Abu Dhabi
- 7 return flights per week between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi
- 3 return flights per day between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow
Etihad codeshare on Air New Zealand as follows:
- Domestic services between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown
- Trans-Tasman services between Sydney and Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Rotorua and Queenstown
- Trans-Tasman services between Brisbane and Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington
- Trans-Tasman services from Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to Melbourne
