The Emirates-Etihad revolutionary pact: what changes with the agreement between the two giants
A historic, at times revolutionary, agreement has been signed in recent hours between Emirates and Ethiad. The two airlines [...]
Etihad Airways
Emirates
DXB
A historic, at times revolutionary, agreement was signed in these hours between Emirates and Ethiad. The two airlines the former based in Dubai, the latter in Abu Dhabi, have signed a memorandum of understanding to expand their interline agreement that will facilitate a Increased cooperation between the two carriers United Arab Emirates.
How the interline works
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In detail, the interline is an agreement between airlines under which one carrier has the right to issue tickets for the flights of another airline, which in turn is obligated to recognize and accept such tickets. A difference of codesharing, in this case, there is no joint operation of a flight, but only recognition of the respective airline tickets issued.
The signing took place during theArabian Travel Market in the presence of the top executives of both companies: the president of Emirates, Tim Clark, and the ceo of Etihad, Antonoaldo Neves.The latter stressed:
"With two world-class airlines supporting UAE tourism, our agreement will make it more convenient for our customers to experience the best of Abu Dhabi and Dubai on a single ticket, promising to deliver an exceptional flight experience whether they fly Etihad Airways or Emirates."
The Emirates-Etihad pact
As Neves points out, therefore, the cooperation between Emirates and Etihad aims to Supporting tourist flows to the United Arab Emirates offering airline passengers more options and greater flexibility, allowing visitors to experience more than one destination in a single itinerary.
This "expanded" interline project - bordering on codeshare - will be valid as early as this summer for the tourists from Europe and China who will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a "seamless" (i.e., seamless) return via the other airport.
The new agreement provides, in essence, for the issuance of a single ticket beyond the airport of arrival or departure in the Emirates and single check-in of luggage.
The agreement will therefore enable visitors to increase their opportunity to visit and explore the territories of the Emirates, passing indifferently through Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports. and also offering them the opportunity to multi-tract flights between cities with the choice of traveling from a newtork destination of both airlines.
Basically, until now, all these services required multiple reservations. Now European travelers, including Italians, will only need a single ticket, a single reservation, which can include departures, arrivals and intermediate crossings between the carriers' two hubs.
Emirates chairman, Tim Clark, he added:
"Emirates and Etihad are leveraging each other's strengths to expand customer offerings and increase tourism to the UAE. We believe this new agreement provides a solid foundation to develop further opportunities between both airlines and is an example of our commitment to Emirates' vision for continued economic diversification."
Emirates strategy
The United Arab Emirates is an exception in the aviation landscape because it has two flag carriers (Emirates and Etihad, precisely), whereas usually each state can only count on one flag carrier (Air France, Lufthansa, Iberia, Singapore, etc.). For some time now, there has been talk of a future in which Emirates and Etihad could join their forces more and more even becoming a single airline.
A possible merger, however, has always been denied by the top management of both companies. The expanded interline agreement, on the other hand, is a very strong message that boosts UAE offerings. than nascent competitors (Saudi Arabia, which with the emergence of Riyadh Air in addition to Saudia is almost copying its model, ed.) and other airlines in the area (from Qatar Airways to Turkish Airlines).
