Following Etihad Airways’ recent three per cent equity purchase in Aer Lingus, the two carriers have announced interline and codeshare agreements to take effect from mid-September.
Etihad Airways purchased a 2.987 per cent stake in the Irish carrier in May this year (see online news May 2), and will now place its EY code on the following Aer Lingus flights:
- Between Dublin and Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Isle of Man, Jersey, Kerry, Lisbon, London Gatwick, London Heathrow and Manchester
- Between London Heathrow and Dublin, Cork, and Shannon
- Between Manchester and Dublin, Cork, and Shannon
- Between Dublin and Boston and New York JFK
Aer Lingus will in turn place it EI code on Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and Dublin, a route which was launched in 2007 (see online news May 30, 2007).
The Irish carrier will also have “full access to flights across the [Etihad] network beyond Abu Dhabi, to points including Australia, Asia-Pacific, the Indian Subcontinent and the Middle East”.
The codeshare agreement will take effect for flights purchased from today, for travel from September 15.
Members of the Etihad Guest loyalty programme will be able to earn miles on Aer Lingus codeshare flights, and further integration of the carriers' frequent flyer prgrammes is “under discussion”.
Etihad and Aer Lingus said they would “continue to discuss additional commercial and cost opportunities to develop a closer working relationship in areas such as joint procurement”.
For more information visit etihadairways.com, aerlingus.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
