Etihad, Gulf Air widen cooperation agreement

Etihad Airways and Gulf Air are to step up their recently signed wide-ranging cooperative agreement by instituting a codeshare from the start of the industry’s summer timetable season.

The latest move comes after Abu Dhabi-based Etihad and Bahrain flag carrier Gulf Air signed an MOU to cooperate in several areas at the Bahrain International Air Show in November 2018. Training services have already been the subject of a separate accord under the MOU.

The codeshare announcement was made in Abu Dhabi, attended by Etihad Aviation Group CEO Tony Douglas and Gulf Air CEO Krešimir Kučko.

The codeshare will operate both between the two carriers’ hubs and further afield. Currently, Gulf Air has a 4X-daily operation to Abu Dhabi, while Etihad flies 3X-daily to Bahrain.

Gulf Air has a mainly regional route network and serves a large number of destinations in the Indian sub-continent, together with a small number of long-haul destinations, such as London Heathrow and Manila. Etihad has a more wide-ranging long-haul route map, although it also flies to regional destinations.

Under the agreement, Gulf Air will place its GF code on Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi to and from Bahrain, as well as to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney (Australia); Jakarta (Indonesia); Lagos (Nigeria); and Chicago O’Hare, Los Angeles, New York JFK and Washington.

Etihad will place its EY code on Gulf Air flights from Bahrain to/from Abu Dhabi, Baghdad and Najaf (Iraq); Casablanca (Morocco); Dhaka (Bangladesh); Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar and Sailkot (Pakistan); Larnaca (Cyprus); Malaga (Spain); and Tbilisi (Georgia).

Passengers traveling to the US with Etihad will be able to use the US Customs and Border Protection pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport, which effectively allows them to arrive in the US as domestic passengers, avoiding immigration queues at the end of their journey.

In addition to the codeshare agreement, both airlines’ loyalty programs—Gulf Air Falconflyer and Etihad Guest—are exploring ways to offer and redeem miles.