Etihad Airways and South African Airways Expand Partnership

Etihad Airways and South African Airways have expanded their strategic partnership.

As part of the extended cooperation, South African Airways will launch a daily service between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi on 29 March 2015 which will complement Etihad Airways’ existing flights between the two cities to offer a combined double-daily frequency on the route.

The airlines have also significantly developed their codeshare agreement to include a total of 49 routes, more than double the previous number. Subject to regulatory approval, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ code on South African Airways’ new Johannesburg-Abu Dhabi flights, in addition to 16 of the airline’s other services from Johannesburg to key destinations across the African continent. In return, South African Airways will place its ‘SA’ code on 32 Etihad Airways routes beyond Abu Dhabi to a range of destinations worldwide.

In addition, the airlines will enhance the alignment of their Etihad Guest and Voyager frequent flyer programs, with even more opportunities for members to earn and redeem miles. Benefits such as priority baggage handling, boarding and check-in, and airport lounge access across the airlines’ networks will be provided based on membership tiers.

Nico Bezuidenhout, SAA’s acting Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our multi-layered partnership with Etihad Airways has been instrumental in allowing South African Airways to establish new connections between the African continent and other markets worldwide for its passengers. Under the second phase of our cooperation, we will better serve established regions such as North America, Europe and Australia, while strengthening our presence in fast-growing markets across the Middle East and Asia. In particular, the codeshare expansion will support a planned adjustment of our network to strengthen access into the fast-growing China and India markets.”