Fiji Airways and Etihad Airways have signed an
interline agreement that will allow reciprocal sales to and from
12 cities in Europe, 17 cities in the Middle East, 5 cities in
Africa, 5 cities in North America, 29 cities in Asia and 3 cities
in Australia to and from Fiji.
The agreement comes into place with immediate
effect and is the starting point of further negotiations between
the two airlines.
James Hogan, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Etihad Airways, said, “Fiji is a great holiday market
and we are happy to offer Fiji as an additional destination in our
global network. The agreement also connects the outer South
Pacific Islands to our network which creates more opportunities
for our worldwide sales force.”
Stefan Pichler, Managing
Director and CEO of Fiji Airways added, “We are proud to be
part of the global Etihad Airways network and this partnership
will help us to put Fiji on the map in countries where we had no
presence before. Etihad Airways will help us to reach out for new
customers and to diversify tourism streams for our country. It is
definitely a major step for Fiji Airways.”
The Fijian
Attorney-General and Minister for Tourism, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum,
has hailed the agreement as an exciting new development for Fiji
Airways and the entire Fijian economy. “This opens up a whole new
lucrative market for our tourism industry, enabling us to attract
affluent visitors from Abu Dhabi - Etihad's base - the other Gulf
States, the rest of the Middle East and beyond,” he said.
Etihad Airways joins Fiji Airways' impressive list of
codeshare or interline partners, which includes American Airlines,
Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.
Fiji Airways,
Etihad Airways,
Abu Dhabi,
Fiji
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