Air France-KLM Group and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance their collaboration opportunities in the areas of passenger operations, loyalty programmes, talent development, and maintenance.
The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Angus Clarke, Chief Commercial Officer of Air France-KLM, and Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer of Etihad Airways, at the headquarters of the Air France-KLM Group in Paris, France.
Air France-KLM and Etihad are considering expanding their codeshare and interline agreements initiated in 2012 through this partnership, pending the necessary regulatory approvals. As a first stage, more than 40 new routes spanning Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Australia are now available for booking, with travel beginning as early as the winter season of 2023.
The MoU also proposes that Flying Blue and Etihad Guest members will be able to accrue and redeem miles with Air France, KLM, and Etihad. Among other initiatives, the airlines will investigate terminal co-location, reciprocal lounge access, and ground management.
Etihad currently conducts daily flights from Abu Dhabi international airport to both Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam Schiphol.
Beginning on October 29, 2023, Air France will operate daily flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of Air France-KLM, Angus Clarke, stated:
I’m delighted to further develop our partnership with Etihad Airways. This 11-year collaboration is now expanding even further, as we aim to explore opportunities in maintenance and loyalty, in addition to enhancing our route network for the benefit of our customers from all around the world. The attractiveness of Abu Dhabi as a destination and a hub, powered by Etihad’s large footprint spanning South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia, brings significant richness to this partnership. This moment marks our shared commitment to providing seamless, premium, customer-centric travel experiences to our shared global customer base.
Etihad’s Chief Revenue Officer, Arik De, stated:
We are excited to expand our collaboration with Air France-KLM, with this MoU serving as a testament to our shared vision of creating premium journeys for our guests. This MoU builds on our existing partnership by exploring deeper network enhancements as we offer improved connectivity between Abu Dhabi and Paris, and leveraging the extensive AF-KL network to Europe and beyond. It reaffirms Etihad’s intent to bolster Abu Dhabi’s cultural and economic growth as we look forward to welcoming more guests to our home enjoying better travel benefits and enhanced customer experiences along the way.
Earlier this year, Air France-KLM announced it had signed an MoU with Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism with the objective of reinforcing connectivity between Europe and Abu Dhabi.
