Etihad Airways and Saudia, the national carriers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively, have signed a new reciprocal loyalty agreement, and have renewed their existing codeshare agreement.

Members of the Etihad Guest and Saudia’s Alfursan programmes will now be able to earn and redeem miles on flights across networks of both the airlines. Loyalty programme members can also earn Tier Miles and Tier Segments that will allow them to advance to the next tier level faster. Furthermore, miles can be earned by members on Etihad and Saudia codeshare flights.

Terry Daly, executive director guest experience, brand and marketing, Etihad Airways said, “As the aviation industry begins to restart and guests return to the skies, this partnership strengthens the airlines’ commitment to growing inbound business and tourism in their respective markets. It complements Etihad’s existing codeshare agreement with Saudia and opens more destinations for Etihad Guest members to earn and spend their miles through travel.”

Etihad said on Wednesday that the two carriers are re-launching their codeshare cooperation beyond each other’s hubs. This codeshare agreement had facilitated over 110,000 passenger journeys over the past two years. With the re-launch of the agreement, Saudia has added its ‘SV’ code to 15 destinations on the Etihad network in Saudi Arabia, Asia, the US and Europe, while Etihad has added its ‘EY’ code to Saudia destinations in Pakistan.

“By offering our guests more opportunities to earn miles we are bringing greater value, flexibility and convenience to their travel experience, which will help fuel growth in demand and contribute to our goal of enhancing the Kingdom’s aviation and tourism sectors,” said Khalid Al-Bassam, Chief Commercial Officer, Saudia.

Since 2004, Etihad Airways has been operating flights to Saudi Arabia. Etihad was operating about seventy-seven weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Medina before the onset of the pandemic.

At present, the UAE-based carrier is operating direct flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah. Passengers transiting through Abu Dhabi from the Kingdom have access to Etihad’s USA pre-clearance, the only United States Customs and Border Protection facility in the Middle East. Here, travellers bound for the USA can process all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections in Abu Dhabi before they board their flight to Chicago, New York or Washington D.C.

Since 2016, Etihad Airways Engineering and Saudia have been in collaboration at Etihad’s MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) facility in Abu Dhabi.

Earlier this year, Etihad Airlines also signed a Strategic Commercial Cooperation Agreement (SCCA) with Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier to broaden their commercial cooperation and expand the codeshare agreement between the two airlines.

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