Etihad and Virgin Blue are teaming up commercially, creating a joint network of more than 100 destinations from October 1, 2010 and enabling V Australia, Virgin Blue's long-haul arm, to mount direct services to Abu Dhabi from next year.
Etihad and V Australia will move to eventually offering a total of 27 weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Australia, including double-daily services between Abu Dhabi and Sydney, daily Melbourne-Abu Dhabi flights and six-times-weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Brisbane.
V Australia aims to offer three Sydney-Abu Dhabi services per week from February 2011 and three Brisbane-Abu Dhabi services per week by February 2012, using its new three-class Boeing B777-300ER.
Qantas is the other Australian carrier flying to Abu Dhabi from Sydney and Melbourne.
From October, Virgin Blue Group customers can access Etihad’s network of 65 destinations in North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the India subcontinent. Likewise, Etihad clients will have access to Virgin Blue services to 45 destinations in Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Asia, South Africa and Los Angeles.
The agreement also makes provision for Etihad Guest and Velocity programme members to earn status/tier points and frequent flyer points along with reciprocal service benefits and lounge access for top-tier members. This comes into effect from October 1.
For more details, visit www.etihadairways.com and www.virginblue.com.au
Margie T Logarta
