Planning a trip to the UAE? Well, your travel options just got a lot better. Travellers who fly to the country will have the option to arrive in one emirate and leave from the other. How, you ask? Etihad Airways and Emirates have signed a memorandum of understanding at the Arabian Travel Market that will expand their interline agreement. This provides travellers the flexibility to land in one emirate and leave from another. For example, a traveller flying from Newyork can choose to land in Dubai and then fly out of Abu Dhabi via Etihad, on the way back.
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etihad & emirates sign new agreement which allows passengers in land in one emirate & fly out from another
Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their interline agreement and provide travellers additional itinerary options when visiting the UAE. This first of its kind agreement between the two UAE carriers aims to capitalise on opportunities to boost tourism to the UAE from key source markets by enabling visitors to experience more than one destination in a single itinerary.
This summer, customers of each airline will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly into either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a seamless return via the other airport. The new agreement also provides travellers planning to explore the UAE with the flexibility of one-stop ticketing for their full journey and convenient baggage check-in.
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In the initial stages of the expanded interline, each carrier will focus on attracting visitors to the UAE by developing inbound interline traffic from select points in Europe and China. The ‘open jaw’ arrangement will allow visitors to cover as much ground as possible when exploring Abu Dhabi, Dubai or any other emirate, saving time by removing the need to fly home via their arrival airport. Customers travelling into the UAE also have the option of ‘multi-city flights’, with the choice to travel from one city on both carriers’ networks, and conveniently returning to another point served by either Emirates or Etihad.
The MoU was signed at Arabian Travel Market by Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer, and Mohammad Al Bulooki, Chief Operating Officer, Etihad Airways, in the presence of Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline, and Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad CEO, along with other senior representatives.
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Sir Tim Clark, President, Emirates Airline said: “We are pleased to be working again with Etihad Airways – this time to allow each carrier to offer a new range of seamless travel options in and out of the UAE. Emirates and Etihad are leveraging on our strengths to expand our respective customer offerings and boost UAE tourism. We believe this new agreement provides a strong foundation to develop further opportunities between both airlines and is an example of our commitment to the UAE’s vision for continued economic diversification.”
The expanded interline partnership draws upon the commitment of both airlines to support the UAE government’s objective to promote tourism to the UAE and enhance the UAE’s position as a preferred global destination. Tourism is one of the key pillars of the UAE Economy and is expected to contribute to 5.4% of the nation’s total GDP, or AED 116.1 billion (USD 31.6 billion), supporting over 1 million jobs by 2027.
This is the second time the airlines have announced a collaboration. In 2018, Emirates Group Security and Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen aviation security, including the sharing of information and intelligence in operational areas both within and outside the UAE. Last year, Emirates signed an MoU with the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, to boost tourist numbers to the UAE capital from key source markets across the airline’s global network.
Tickets can be booked on www.emirates.com, www.etihad.com, with Online Travel Agencies, as well as travel agents.
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