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Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways are tightening their relationship with an expansion of their interline agreement.
From Summer 2023, the 2 primary airlines in the United Arab Emirates are giving passengers the option of booking both airlines on a 1-ticket itinerary.
“We are pleased to be working again with Etihad Airways – this time to allow each carrier to offer a new range of seamless travel options in and out of the UAE,” said Sir Tim Clark, president at Emirates Airline.
Let’s take a look at what this could mean for your next trip to the U.A.E.
It’s rare to see this kind of agreement between 2 airlines that should technically be in competition with each other.
This kind of close relationship would be equivalent to the U.K.’s main long-haul carriers, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, doing the same thing.
However, the focus is not on removing competition between the airlines, but rather on making it easier for passengers to visit both Abu Dhabi and Dubai on the same trip, thus increasing tourism to the country.
“With two world-class airlines supporting U.A.E. tourism, our interline agreement will make it more convenient for our guests to experience the best of Abu Dhabi and Dubai on one single ticket while promising to deliver an exceptional flying experience whether they fly with Etihad Airways or Emirates,” said Antonaoldo Neves, CEO at Etihad Airways.
Hot Tip:Emirates and Etihads’ hard and soft products are very different. Here are reviews of the business class product on an Etihad Airbus A380 and an Emirates A380 to give you an indication of what it might be like to fly them.
Emirates and Etihad joining forces may also give the 2 airlines a competitive edge over Qatar Airways — the third airline in the trio of carriers known as the Middle East “Big 3.”
Initially, passengers traveling from select destinations in China and Europe will be the first to be able to book open-jaw itineraries to the U.A.E. on a single ticket with flights operated by both airlines.
Emirates and Etihad maintain separate loyalty programs, Skywards and Etihad Guest, respectively, which have separate earning and redeeming currencies and costs.
A logical next step would be to make it possible to redeem miles on both airlines, but this isn’t guaranteed. At this point, it’s unclear what changes there might be for passengers looking to redeem miles for travel to the U.A.E.
Travelers to the U.A.E. will soon be able to book a 1-ticket travel itinerary with flights operated by both Emirates and Etihad.
We’ll be sure to update you once we hear of an official start date as well as any changes there might be to earning or redeeming miles.
