Etihad Airways has signed an agreement with Air France-KLM Group to enhance collaboration opportunities across passenger operations, loyalty programmes, talent development, and maintenance.
The signing ceremony took place at the Air France-KLM Group’s headquarters in Paris, France in the presence of Angus Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer, Air France-KLM and Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer, Etihad Airways.
Through this partnership, and subject to any necessary regulatory approvals, Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways will contemplate expanding their codeshare and interline agreements initiated in 2012. As a first step, more than 40 new routes, covering destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Australia, have been made available to book for travel as early as the winter 2023 season.
The agreement also proposes the ability for frequent flyers of both Flying Blue and Etihad Guest to earn and redeem miles with Air France, KLM and Etihad Airways. The airlines will also explore terminal co-location, reciprocal lounge access and ground handling, among other initiatives.
Etihad Airways currently operates daily flights to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol from Abu Dhabi international airport.
Air France will start operating daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi International Airport from 29 October 2023.
Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer at Etihad Airways, said: “We are excited to expand our collaboration with Air France-KLM, with this MoU serving as a testament to our shared vision of creating premium journeys for our guests. This MoU builds on our existing partnership by exploring deeper network enhancements as we offer improved connectivity between Abu Dhabi and Paris, and leveraging the extensive AF-KL network to Europe and beyond. It reaffirms Etihad’s intent to bolster Abu Dhabi’s cultural and economic growth as we look forward to welcoming more guests to our home enjoying better travel benefits and enhanced customer experiences along the way.”
Angus Clarke, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Air France-KLM, said: "I'm delighted to further develop our partnership with Etihad Airways. This 11-year collaboration is now expanding even further, as we aim to explore opportunities in maintenance and loyalty, in addition to enhancing our route network for the benefit of our customers from all around the world. The attractiveness of Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub, powered by Etihad's large footprint spanning South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, brings significant richness to this partnership. This moment marks our shared commitment to providing seamless, premium, customer-centric travel experiences to our shared global customer base."
