Etihad Airways has announced a new codeshare agreement with Qantas, which will see the Abu Dhabi-based carrier place its ‘EY’ code on selected Qantas domestic services which operate beyond Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – the three gateway airports currently served by Etihad. In addition, Etihad will place its code on daily Qantas flights from Melbourne to Auckland in New Zealand.
The initial codeshare agreement comes into effect on 29 March and is likely to be extended to other routes in the future, Etihad said.
“Australia represents a key market for Etihad and one in which we are keen to grow further, both through the addition of new routes of our own, such as Melbourne, and through close cooperation with other wellestablished airlines such as Qantas,†said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive.
The Qantas routes within Australia covered by the new codeshare arrangement will initially include services between Sydney and Brisbane, Sydney and Cairns and Melbourne and Adelaide.
In turn, Qantas will place its own ‘QF’ code on all services operated by Etihad between Australia and Abu Dhabi and a selection of Etihad services connecting the UAE capital to the Middle Eastern destinations of Amman in Jordan, Bahrain and Beirut in Lebanon.
Etihad currently flies to three destinations in Australia: Sydney, Brisbane and, from 29 March, Melbourne.
Recent forecasts by the Tourism Australia Aviation and Economics team suggest that the number of visitors from the Middle East and North Africa travelling to Australia are expected to grow by eight per cent this year and by 15 per cent in 2010.